Naruto: The Sharp Shooter
by Fencer22
Summary: At a young age Naruto helps to develop, and learns to use, guns. Events lead to a serious, sniper/assassin Naruto with a different life goal. Many differences from canon. I do not own Naruto.
1. Chapter 1

AN: I do not own Naruto. Do not expect that note at the top of every post, I'm rather forgetful. Before this fic starts let me make a few things clear. I have made numerous changes to canon Naruto right off the bat to cut out ,what I feel are, the more idiotic portions of canon either directly or indirectly.

The list of my sweeping changes to canon!

No Bunny Goddess! I may not get that far with this story but seriously; no, just no.

Madara is dead! Because really, he just made the plot into a horrible power wank.

Obito is dead! Because surviving losing half your chest and head makes no sense! Also Madara is dead... Soooo yeah not there to save Obito's sorry ass.

Ninjas physical abilities have been nerfed! Because really their speed/strength was always inconsistent simply because it made for some cool scenes in canon. So now they top out at Olympic levels for multiple events, or push slightly past Olympic levels in one or two events. Basically no blurring out of existence to appear behind people, or stopping hundred pound swords with throwing knives.

Itachi really did go crazy and slaughtered his clan! To me that seems far more reasonable than canon.

Graduation is at 16-17 instead of 12-13, because it makes so much more sense, and prevents shipping from being creepy. That does not mean that 12-13 year olds will not be asked to kill in this fic. A seduction/assassination mission whose target is a pedophile will play a large role in shaping the course of this fic. That is your first warning. There will be another at the start of that particular post.

Guns will play a major role in this fic. They will be functionally the same but fundamentally different from real world firearms. Basically they are going to run on seals and chakra. They will be pretty rare. Only Naruto, his team, and a few others will be using them.

These changes have been made because I feel that they will make for a better story. I realize that such drastic changes may seem rash but I've thought this through and I think you will find that I am going to take this in interesting directions. So stick around, and give it a shot.

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Eight-year-old Naruto Uzumaki, newly enrolled student of the Konoha ninja academy, was currently engaging in one of his few normal pastimes, namely wandering through the village. Deciding that perhaps it would be good to get in some training Naruto made his way to the training grounds when a sound like thunder split through the air.

Ever the inquisitive and curious type ,the young blond raced off in the hopes of seeing something cool.

What Naruto found stunned the him to silence. In the middle of the field stood the Hokage, several members of the council, and a large muscular man who carried several long metal tubes connected to pieces of wood. With another loud crack a training post the man was pointing the tube at splintered slightly sending slivers and wood chips spinning.

"Wow." Naruto muttered as he scrunched down behind a bush to watch more. He was tempted to run out and start asking questions, but the last time he had tried asking his Jiji questions around the counsel he'd been forced to leave and come back later. So Naruto sat, and waited in the bushes. His chance would come, and then he would find out what those tubes were.

"Most impressive, Higurashi-san." The Hokage commented as he speculatively eyed the large man with the metal tubes. "A very powerful weapon, however I fear it is ill suited for the style of combat that a shinobi must employ."

Many of the council members nodded along with their leader's analysis. The weapon was lethal, that much could not be denied. Unfortunately, the weapon was useless in close combat, large and cumbersome, it was more of a liability than anything else. It would make a decent ranged weapon, however it fell short in almost every respect when compared to more traditional ranged weapons.

While it was more powerful than a bow or crossbow, it could not be fired nearly as rapidly, meaning that the shooter would have time for only one shot before being forced to retreat, in comparison someone with a bow might have time to get off two or three shots before falling back.

In terms of accuracy the weapon was almost painfully inaccurate; it had taken the smith three attempts before actually managing to hit the log he was using for a demonstration. A well trained archer could have hit the same log at double or even triple the distance on their first attempt.

Bows and arrows were already becoming less and less common. But for those situations, and shinobi, who still employed them the main advantage of such weapons was that the shooter could make the shot from a distance and then disappear silently before anyone could discover their location. This new weapon completely removed any such benefit. The noise, light, and smoke produced when fired would give away the position of the shooter immediately. Using such a weapon would make a mockery of assassination.

No, this weapon, while powerful, had no place in the shinobi arsenal.

The man the Hokage identified as Higurashi seemed to deflate at the Hokage's words. He had spent months developing his first prototypes, and while he knew it had many flaws he was convinced that his invention, if properly used, could become a valuable tool. However, in the face of the village leader and shinobi council all he could do was nod his understanding.

"I understand Hokage-dono, thank you for giving me the chance to display my weapon." Higurashi said bowing low. Nodding the Hokage and his counsel filed off of the training field conversing with one another about the demonstration they had just witnessed.

As Mr. Higurashi took out a set of tools and rags and began to clean his weapon, a certain young blond seized the opportunity for what it was and ran up to the large weapon smith.

"Hey mister, what is that!?" Naruto exclaimed as he pointed excitedly at the metal tube resting in the smith's lap. Mr. Higurashi sighed before answering.

"This is a new type of weapon I've been trying to design, I call it a gun. This is my first prototype to survive being fired repeatedly." The man said with a defeated chuckle. "The only problem is it's just not cut out to be a ninja weapon. It's loud, heavy, and makes a lot of light and smoke, not to mention I haven't figured out how to make it accurate."

Naruto looked between the gun and the training post repeatedly before shrugging his shoulders.

"So?"

"Huh? What do you mean so? Didn't I just explain it isn't cut out for ninja work?"

"Well, sort of, but not really. I mean a lot of ninjutsu are really loud and noisy, or flashy, but people still use those." Naruto bluntly stated.

Now Mr. Higurashi was no fool, far from it in fact. That he had successfully invented his gun was proof of that. Hearing the child's argument in favor of his pet project rekindled some hope for his little brainchild.

"You really think this could still be a ninja weapon kid?" Naruto nodded his head emphatically.

"You bet mister! You just need to make it better! I'll bet the first sword anyone ever made couldn't cut butter! But now we have all kinds of really cool swords! No way should you just give up here!" Naruto shouted giving his trademarked cheeky grin.

Hearing that Mr. Higurashi burst into laughter. The kid was right. So what if his first attempt hadn't been good enough for ninja work? He could improve it. Rip the design apart again and again until he found the magic formula. Then once he found that he would tear it all apart again and make something even better! If what he had now was a dull club, then he would hang it on a wall to learn from. He would attack the problem until he had made a weapon that, in its element, could be compared to the most finely crafted katana. Mr. Higurashi grinned down at his new source of inspiration and stuck out his hand.

"Name's Higurashi kid, what's yours?"

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" The young blond shouted enthusiastically. Higurashi just chuckled again.

"Alright then Naruto, tell me, since you seem to think my gun could be a real ninja weapon, how would you like to help me make them?" Hearing that Naruto's eyes went wide in disbelief.

"Really?! You want me to help you make those?!" Higurashi nodded his head.

"Sure. You are planning to be a ninja, right?"

"Of Course! I just started at the academy a few weeks ago!" The Blond shouted almost vibrating with excitement.

"Then you're the perfect person to help me out, kid. This hunk of junk is worthless as it is now. It's going to take years of work and experiments before _we_ can turn this into a real ninja weapon. And who better to help me figure out what needs to be fixed, and how to fix it, than a ninja in training, eh? Besides, once it's done I'm going to need someone to go out and show the world just how useful these new weapons can be! What do say kid, partners?"

Now hearing that Naruto's eyes shot wide open. Very few people had ever given him so much as the time of day! Now here was a complete stranger that wanted to teach him how to make one of the incredible weapons he called a gun. He wanted Naruto's help to improve the weapon, and then to prove to everyone that the gun truly could be a ninja weapon! No one had ever made such an offer to Naruto before. Taking all of that into account there was only one real option for the young blond.

His grin nearly splitting his face young Naruto extended his hand which the older weapon smith enthusiastically shook.

This simple action, the team up of the prankster king from hell, and the brilliant weapon smith would one day be marked in history books the world over as the start of something new and unique that would one day shake the shinobi world.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Don't own Naruto.

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A few months after their initial meeting Naruto and Mr. Higurashi stared at their latest gun morosely. This, like the last few guns, had survived repeated firing. Unlike previous models they had lengthened the barrel in the hopes that doing so would improve accuracy. The theory had held true in practice, but not half as well as the engineering duo had hoped.

The pair had decided to focus on the weapons accuracy before anything else. After all, if they could not hit someone with it then there really was not any point in fixing the weapons other problems.

"I don't know Naruto. I think we need to step away from the problem for a bit." Higurashi said. "Why don't we spend the next week or so brainstorming then come back to this alright?"

With a defeated sigh Naruto nodded, and with a wave headed out to wander the village. Higurashi with a sigh of his own turned back to more conventional work. He was half way through an order of kuni when inspiration struck, kuni and senbon were both meant to be used as throwing weapons and shared a common trait, a sharpened point. up until now they had been using lead balls as projectiles, but perhaps a more aerodynamic projectile would be more accurate!

Completing the last of the kunai he quickly set to work on designing new, more aerodynamic, bullet molds.

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Naruto wandered around the edge of the village observing the training fields. Normally he would have wanted to go out and practice some of the taijutsu he had been learning at the academy, but the problem with the gun's accuracy rested heavily on Naruto's mind.

As Naruto wandered the outskirts of the village he came across a pair of shinobi practicing their jutsu against training logs. The first launched a large rolling ball of flame while the second attacked with a smaller spinning ball of water. To Naruto the outcome was a foregone conclusion. Obviously the massive ball of fire would do more damage than the pitiful spinning ball of water.

So when the dust from the attacks cleared Naruto's mouth fell open in shock. The stump that had been attacked with fire was indeed charred and burnt but it was still standing. The target attacked with the ball of water on the other hand had a deep gouge torn out of it. Glancing back at the pair of young shinobi who had just launched the attacks Naruto registered something he had missed the first time; the shinobi who had launched the water attack stood at least twice as far away from his target as his companion.

"That's it!" Naruto cried, and like a shot from one of his precious inventions, Naruto took off back towards the weapons shop with ideas for spinning bullets dancing in his head. He didn't know exactly how he would make a bullet spin, but he bet Mr. Higurashi would have some ideas!

One Year Later (age 9)

The inspiration for how to improve the gun's accuracy had taken time to bear fruit but after exhaustive experimentation it had taken the project a long way. Perfecting the process of adding a groove to the barrel's interior had taken a long time, but that had not stopped the duo. Between several breakthroughs in metallurgy and the design of specialized tools they had achieved lighter and stronger gun barrels than ever before. Their best design could easily hit a target regularly at 200 meters, not bad, but they hoped to do better as they're designs continued to improve, and as they became better shots.

"All right Naruto, for now I think that's as good as we'll get until we can come back to the problem and look at it fresh. I think it's time to look at the rate of fire issues." Mr, Higurashi said. Naruto simply nodded his head in agreement.

"So take the week off and meat back here to swap ideas, right? "

"You got it kid. Go home and take a week off."

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"Alright class, settle down." The students of Naruto's class slowly quieted down as they turned to face their instructor. "Today we will be going over the basics of sealing."

And so the lesson went. The instructor described everything from the basics of storage scrolls and explosive tags to mentions of the less know things like security, silencing, and other seals. Naruto sat with rapt wide eyed attention and a steadily growing belief that one could do anything with seals. Throughout the lesson fantasies spiraled through his mind about using some kind of reusable explosive seal instead of expensive gunpowder, of feeding a never ending supply of bullets into his guns by way of a specialized storage seal. Fantasies of bullets that would explode on contact, or home in on a target without the need to aim so precisely flowed through the blond's mind. His imagination exploding with possibilities, all while listening to the instructor's explanations as if they were the words of the kami.

"For any of you interested in sealing there will be an optional class held at the end of the day starting next week which will introduce you to the basics of sealing. If you show promise then you may be given the option to continue and learn a bit more over the coming years."

As the bell rang for the end of the day Naruto was one of the few students to sign up for the sealing class. He knew it wouldn't immediately solve the gun's issues and would take time and practice, but Naruto was now confident that given time he would be able to solve those issues.

Time skip three years (age 12)

Naruto had taken to sealing like a bird takes to flight. His first attempts were rather rough as his penmanship needed work, but once that issues was sorted out he tore through the material at a breakneck pace.

He was beginning to incorporate some seals into his gun designs but the work was slow going. The concepts were all founded on classic seals, but each needed to be modified, and in practice the process was far more difficult. Inscribing seals onto metal and wood was a much trickier process because the material was not flat, and was all much smaller than the paper such seals would normally be printed on. The process was delicate and time consuming, but Naruto was slowly improving. He had at least replaced the need for gunpowder with a modified explosive seal.

The seal, or rather series of seals, used to accomplish this worked remarkably like an electrical circuit. Seals inked up the right side of the but stalk absorbed chakra from the shooter and stored it to prevent any firing delays. Well in theory they would prevent firing delays. Right now the top firing speed was limited to how quickly the shooter could feed the next bullet into the gun.

Pulling the trigger completed a seal allowing chakra to flow from storage on the right side of the stock to the left. The seals along the left side of the stock were the real trick, they were the majority of the explosive seal, with several additions to make it reusable. They curled up along the side before running along the top of the stock to where they ended at the base of the barrel, these forced the building energy into the final seal inside the base of the gun barrel. This final seal acted as a focusing point where the energy of the explosion would be released from, which propelled the bullet from the gun.

Naruto was now focusing on the idea of specialized storage seals that would feed bullets into the gun.

While Naruto had been busy learning how to create and apply seals Mr. Higurashi had turned his focus towards improving and diversifying the potential of his guns in various ways. The effective range of the latest rifle design was 400 meters, something both Naruto and Mr. Higurashi were very pleased with.  
The addition of a pair of sights on top of the barrel and helped immensely. However, that was just the rifle. Mr. Higurashi had invented a small gun he called a pistol as well as the shotgun.

Naruto stood firm in the belief that, while powerful, the shotgun was too imprecise to be used around allies, in the more conventional and common close quarters combat, for fear of catching them in the blast. This had lead to the project being sidelined, at least for the moment.

While Naruto struggled with his storage seal design Mr. Higurashi continued to work at developing a mechanical alternative. So far both inventors were failing in that regard.

Naruto in an attempt to prepare for his ninja career using guns, had begun to contemplate the best tactics to be used with his new weapons. It had not taken long for Naruto to realize that the ranged killing potential of the rifle would make any competent shot into a lethal assassin or support fighter, taking out targets from a distance. To that end Naruto focused most heavily on stealth, assassination, and trapping. But he also knew for a fact that his guns would be far more difficult to use at close range. To cover that weakness he trained his knife fighting, and taijutsu.

Occasionally Naruto would test his trapping and stealth skills against the ninja of the village with pranks. That the blond found it therapeutic to get some petty revenge against the villagers who ignored him was of course also a pleasant benefit.

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"Naruto Uzumaki, the Hokage wishes to speak with you." A bird masked Anbu announced from the door of the classroom.

"Wait, what, why?! I haven't pulled a prank in weeks!"

"The Hokage needs to discuss something far more serious than pranks with you Uzumaki."

"Am I in trouble?"

"No, the Hokage will explain momentarily. Iruka, your presence was also requested."

"Right. Come on Naruto." Iruka said with a serious frown.

The Anbu placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and the trio vanished from the classroom in a swirl of leaves, leaving behind a confused group of children and the teaching assistant Mizuki.

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"Naruto, Iruka, please have a seat." The pair quietly complied with the Hokage's request. "Naruto, I need you for a mission, one that only you can accomplish. It… won't be pleasant." Naruto tensed up.

"What kind of mission Jiji?" Naruto asked with a rare note of caution in his voice.

"The only kind that I would need to pull an academy student for, Naruto." Hiruzen replied somberly.

"Seduction." Only rarely would the village use such tactics but they were, sadly, sometimes required. "You need me to kill a pedophile… why me?" Naruto asked in a tone fare more subdued and serious than anyone had heard from him before.

"She only shows an interest in young blond males. You are the only one in the age range who fits those criteria."

"She? Aren't these creeps usually guys?" Naruto asked.

"It is unusual, but not unheard of. She apparently likes to act the part of the doting mother outside her bedchamber."

"Hokage-sama, surely you can't be serious. The class has not even been blooded on animals! And it's a full four years before the execution exam!" Iruka interjected. As Naruto's primary teacher he felt strongly responsible for the blond prankster.

Naruto flinched at the reminder that he would one day be expected to execute a criminal as part of the graduation process. The test was done to prove they could kill in the line of duty, and to give the physc nin a safe time and environment to work through the stress of the first kill with the genin. Though if the rumors he heard were true performing this mission would get him excused from that particular exam. The Hokage merely nodded.

"I know Iruka, but you know this is always a possibility. Naruto, I can't order you to take the mission as you are not yet a shinobi, but I am asking. I can give you time to think it over but I'm going to need an answer by the-"

"I'll do it." For a moment the room fell completely silent.

"Are you certain? You can take your time to think it through I don-"

"I'll do it. But I have some conditions." Naruto's mind was a whirlwind of thought as a number of long suppressed doubts and question roared to the surface of his mind. This was not just a mission to the blond, this was an opportunity.

The Hokage's gaze became stern and calculating. That Naruto had agreed to the mission was not overly surprising. Naruto's drive to prove himself would all but demand he take the mission. That the ninja in training would have conditions though, that was unexpected. Iruka simply sat silent, he was in no way pleased with these developments but he would hold his tongue. If Naruto was determined arguing against it would only solidify his resolve.

"I can't promise you anything Naruto, but let's hear these conditions of yours."

"The first should be easy. The mission pay, would it be enough to pay for a sealing tattoo? I've been learning sealing, but not enough to try giving myself a sealing tattoo, and I know they're expensive. So my first condition is that any pay I would get goes to getting a sealing tattoo, to be applied _before_ the mission. Having one would make this a lot easier."

"That should be doable, though you understand it is highly irregular to be paid in advance for a mission, and this will not be how things work when you graduate and become a proper genin." Naruto nodded accepting the statement. That was the easy bit. It would make the mission more likely to succeed and be incredibly useful later on.

"The other is that I want answers."

The room fell silent at the implications swept over the academy teacher, Hokage, and hidden Anbu.

"What sort of answers Naruto-kun?"

"Don't play dumb with me Jiji. You're way too smart for that. I want to know why the villagers hate me. I want to know why you always dodge the question when I ask about my parents. Who were they really?" The room lapsed into tense silence.

"No." The Hokage's face was a mask of perfect calm.

"Then I hope you find another blond boy my age willing to go on an assassination mission where he could be _raped_." Naruto made sure the throw the emphasis on rape, trying to guilt the Hokage was probably pointless, but it couldn't hurt to remind him how crazy what he was asking for sounded, and how hard it would be to find someone willing. "Those are my terms, and like you said, you can't order me to do this, Jiji."

The Hokage grit his teeth.

"Do you truly think we could not have this woman killed some other way?!" Hiruzen declared angrily.

"No, I know you could. But obviously it's not a very good option, or you wouldn't be trying to get an academy student to do this in the first place. You agreed to pay me in advance even though I could fail the mission and die. But you refuse to answer questions that don't cost you anything. Jiji, how am I supposed to trust you when you refuse to give me answers that I need, answers that matter to me more than anyone?!" The aged Hokage fell silent merely staring into the wood of his desk. Naruto's heart pounded in his chest and adrenaline rushed through his veins. He was arguing with the Hokage; the most powerful person in the village if not the country, and Naruto was picking a fight with the man. The blond was terrified but refused to back down.

"Hokage-sama," Naruto said shocking everyone with his formality. "If you can't answer my questions… then I can't trust you. And if I can't trust the person who would be my commander… then I don't see how I can continue to train to become a ninja."

"What are you saying?" The Hokage's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I'm saying that if I become a ninja I'll have to follow your orders, but if I can't trust you, then I can't trust your orders, if I can't trust those… then becoming a ninja would be a mistake."

"Naruto-kun…"

"I'm sorry Hokage-sama, but it's all or nothing. You can tell me and I do your mission and follow your orders no matter what… Or you don't… and I leave the ninja program."

"Naruto, be reasonable. You have to understand I have my reasons for keeping this from you." A spark seemed to light in Naruto's eyes as the calm mask he had been fighting to maintain started to crack, a scowl spread over his face.

"I need to know. Whatever your reasons are, I need to know."

"You're not ready to know!"

"Ready or not, I need to know!"

The Hokage cursed a blue streak around his pipe as he scowled at the blond seated across from him.

"If you leave the program the village will no longer be required to give you your orphan stipend. You will lose your apartment. You will have no money and nowhere to go."

"I've been helping Mr. Higurashi for years. He's offered to let me move in before. The only reason I haven't is it's farther from the academy and I'm late often enough as is. It wouldn't be hard to become a blacksmith; I'm already past the basics anyway."

"If you leave the shinobi program you will never get the answers you are looking for." Naruto narrowed his eyes at the aged Kage.

"Two attempts to blackmail me to stay? How do I possibly rate that kind of pressure?" Now it was the Hokage's turn to scowl, though he remained silent.

"It doesn't matter, if you aren't willing to answer my questions now… Then there is no guarantee you ever will. You could just keep the answers hanging over my head until either you or I die. If that happens, I'll either never find out, or they won't matter anymore." The room fell silent as the Kage and the blond student stared at one another with narrowed eyes.

"Get out. I need time to think."

Standing the blond and the academy instructor bowed formally before leaving the office. Sarutobi sat and stared out his window which overlooked the village as the smoke from his pipe curled around his wrinkled face. The options before him were limited and he would need to move forward with caution and discretion. He stayed that way in contemplation until the sun set fully behind the village walls.

Time skip two days, back in the Hokage's office

"Alright Naruto-kun, I'm willing to offer you a deal."

"What kind of deal?" The blond asked with a guarded look in his eye.

"Answers to your questions, but on my terms. If you agree to my terms I will tell you the reasons I always dodge the question when you ask about your parents, but not who they were." Naruto continued to stare down the Hokage his eyes seaming to accuse the older man, but now showing a hint of interest as well.

"If you accept the mission and carry it out successfully you will have proved beyond any doubt your loyalty to this village, and I will tell you why the villagers hate you. It will also explain why you are unable to use the regular bunshin, something I believe I have an alternate solution for, which will be considered part of your mission pay."

Now Naruto was sitting up straight, interest clear in his eyes. The Hokage could tell Naruto was already on the brink of accepting his terms and would only need a slight push to accept them entirely.

"When you make Chunin I will tell you who your parents were, as well as give you their last letters to you. When you make jounin we will discuss the option of making your heritage public knowledge. Regardless of whether or not we do make that public knowledge their possessions and properties will be made available to you once you reach jounin."

Naruto opened and closed his mouth several times as he tried to digest the full implications of the Hokage's offer. It was everything he had asked for and more, an alternate to the bunshin and a promise that he would eventually inherit his parent's possessions and properties. Honestly the fact that there was anything for him to inherit at all was shocking. The only downside was time. He would need to wait years before he could ever learn about his parents. Finally getting his thoughts together Naruto nodded his head weakly.

"All right, I accept your terms and the mission. Now tell me, why can't you tell me who my parents were?" Naruto's voice was pleading, desperate.

"Your parents were both very powerful ninja who perished in the attack by the nine tailed fox. They both had many enemies. Should those enemies learn that your parents had a child you would be the target of assassins from several villages looking to either prevent you from ever becoming as dangerous as they were, or as revenge. For that reason the identity of your parents is highly classified, known to only a handful of individuals. You will be told when you reach chunin, but even then you will need to keep that information to yourself, at least until you reach jounin at which point we can readdress the issue."

Naruto sat silently for some time as he digested all of the new information the Hokage had given him.

"Thank you, Jiji… I, that's enough for now… You'll tell me why the villagers hate me when I complete the mission, right?"

"That's right Naruto-kun."

"Well then, I guess it's time to focus on the mission. Let's talk sealing tattoos."

As Naruto looked into the eyes of his grandfather figure a vicious grin played along the edges of his mouth and his eyes spoke of grim determination. In that moment the Hokage knew beyond any doubt that Naruto would carry out the mission and return in alive.

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Read and review!


	3. Chapter 3

AN: I do not own Naruto. This post has been edited to include more information about infiltration missions, ninja tactics and counter ninja tactics. Or at least my understanding of those concepts.

This is your warning. This is the post I mentioned involving the assassination of a pedophile. This is followed by a good sized time skip because I don't know how to show the recovery realistically.

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Naruto sat fidgeting in his seat while the sealing master sat before him.

"Alright kid, the trick to a good sealing tattoo is to make it look like a normal tattoo. That way no one recognizes it for what it is. Now that only works if people don't know you are a ninja. If they know you are a ninja they are going to just assume any tattoo you have is a sealing one until proven otherwise."

"So how do you make a sealing tattoo look normal?"

"Good question. The trick is to use different color sealing ink for different parts of the seal, then fill in the gaps with regular ink to make a complete image. We set that up by marking outlines with pen and then filling it in with the correct ink in the correct section. Sort of like a coloring book. So then the question is what kind of Tattoo that a civilian might have, that you would want."

"Do a lot of civilian twelve year olds have tattoos?"

"Well, not really, no. But it isn't unheard off."

Naruto took a moment to think a variety of ideas running through his head, before finally settling on one. He pulled out the notebook which contained his sealing notes and ideas for gun designs and modifications and flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for, the preliminary sketches for his latest idea. It was a telescope that would be placed on top of the rifle to help aim at far away targets.

The precursor to this idea a trio of metal pegs that could be used to line up the target had worked well initially. Making the back peg adjustable for wind had improved things further. The guns could not make a shot far enough to require the telescope sight, not yet. Naruto hoped that with the telescope, a more powerful explosive seal and larger bullets, he would be able to hit targets at even greater distances. His preliminary design was crude, the cross hairs being only a pair of intersecting black lines, a circle divided into four sections. Naruto had yet to find a way of adjusting it to account for wind, and had not even imagined adjusting for gravity yet.

Naruto showed the symbol to the man, who simply nodded.

"Alright that works, but you're going to need a background color to fill that in, got a preference?"

"Dark green, please."

The Hokage glanced at the symbol which Naruto was now duplicating on a fresh page and filling in with a dark green pen.

"Naruto, what is that symbol?" The blonde took a moment to consider the question.

"It's my new clan symbol." The Hokage's gaze snapped up to scrutinize Naruto.

"But what about-"

Naruto simply reached up and detached the white spiral from the shoulder of his jacket before pocketing it. An act of defiance, a reminder that he and the Hokage had only reached a tenuous agreement, that he was not fully willing to trust the old man at the moment.

"I don't know who my parents were, so no way to know if what you gave me really was their symbol. And if who they were is really such a big secret… it would make more sense, and be safer, for it not to be. So I'm going to start fresh."

The Hokage was not pleased by this latest reminder of Naruto's waning trust, but held his tongue.

For the next two hours Naruto sat trying not to flinch or fidget as the sealing master inked his new clan symbol on his right inner wrist.

For the next three days Naruto went through mission briefing and planning. On the fourth day Naruto, along with a small group of chunin, left the village to intercept and replace the bandit group which brought the lady Suki a new child every five or six months. Some of those children did not last long, specifically the ones who did not learn to follow all of their mistress's _instructions._ The ones who do last lived a life of comfort and luxury, with the notable exception of their expected duties to their mistress.

Lady Suki's unusual and sickening preference was a rather open secret; after all, it is hard to hide the fact that she housed a little over a dozen blonde boys of various ages. Everyone knew, but her wealth, influence, and her guard of genuine samurai made doing anything about the matter rather difficult.

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"Ok kid, remember you are scared, hungry, and the escape tunnel is in the south corner of the cellar." One of the disguised chunin muttered under his breath to the blond who was currently bound at the wrists with rope. They had bribed information about the Lady's emergency escape tunnel out of the architect. Unfortunately forced entry from outside the compound would set off numerous alarm seals, giving the guards ample time to prepare. Hence the reason Naruto needed to be walked in the front gate.

Naruto had to fight the urge to let his jaw drop open as they rounded the final bend in the road and the mansion he would be staying in came into sight. Suffice to say the place was massive, with more rooms than he could hope to guess at from the outside. Walls rising twenty feet into the air outlined the perimeter, and dozens of guards patrolled the walls and gate. Now he knew why this had to be a seduction mission. It was the only possible way to get inside without a risky, and costly, fight. Oh sure a stealth expert might be able to slip inside, but it would be a risky prospect, with no guarantee of success.

It didn't help matters that they were working under a deadline either. Normally weeks or months could be spent on observing the guards' movements, analyzing blueprints, and planning. Similarly, they could have waited her out hopping she would leave the compound making for an easier target, but the woman knew she had enemies and made only infrequent unpredictable trips. The woman needed to be dead before the end of the month. They had no guarantee she would leave her compound in that time, and did not have time to exhaustively analyze guard movements, and hunt down both the original builder and all those hired afterwards to do alterations, in an attempt to develop an up to date blueprint.

The Lady Suki owned a large expanse of iron mines throughout the land of fire, and had been steadily raising prices over the years to the point where buying metal to be made into kunai, shuriken, and other ninja tools was becoming unsustainable. The village needed her dead and a more compliant head of the company in her place before the next quarter. Otherwise the situation would begin to impact the village's military capabilities.

All envoys sent to negotiate had been turned away, all threats ignored. So the woman had to die. To really send the message that no one is safe, to ensure policy change through fear, it had to be done where the woman was supposedly safest; in her own home, in her own bed.

"Halt!" The order came from one of the samurai guarding the gate well before the group had actually reached it. "State your business."

"We're here to deliver the lady's latest _child."_ The last word was said with a derisive sneer. "Shin sent us, would have come himself but he's healing from a bad cut." It was a partial lie. Shin had indeed suffered a bad cut; he just wouldn't ever be healing from it.

The Samurai stepped forward cautiously; hand on his weapon, but the disguised chunin made a show of acting utterly bored with the procedure and the guard quickly relaxed. The man carefully inspected Naruto who did his best to cringe, cower and shake. Finally the man nodded.

"I'll take the boy inside and see what the Lady Suki thinks. If she approves I will return with your pay momentarily." The disguised chunin simply waved the man off and made a show of getting comfortable resting against the base of a tree along the edge of road.

Walking through the gates, even if he was being led by his bound wrists, Naruto was stunned by the beauty of the grounds. Fountains and flowers were everywhere, bushes sculpted into unusual shapes, bird baths, and koi ponds. It was breathtaking.

"Kid, I'm going to give you one piece of advice. You're going to hear this over and over again, but whatever you do don't ignore it." Naruto glanced up at the Samurai. "Treat that woman's every whim as if it is an order from the Damio and you will live a long safe life. Disobey her, and you may not live very long at all."

Naruto could not help but shudder as he stepped through the front door.

The inside of the mansion was just as extravagant as the exterior. Couches with satin cushions, spotless floors, vases filled with flowers, and paintings of everything from important looking people to famous battles. Naruto, who had lived his entire life in a crappy apartment, immediately felt self conscious and out of place surrounded by such wealth and extravagance.

At the same time his training kicked into high gear, noting the almost complete lack of tatami mats. The innocuous objects were both bane and blessing to a paranoid shinobi. By walking against the grain of the mat one would make noise, noise that trained samurai patrolling at night kept a keen ear out for. There were ways around making noise when walking on such mats, but they were slow and awkward. The lack of this basic, traditional alarm system spoke of a great deal of either arrogance or stupidity from the lady Suki. Or perhaps, as is sometimes the case with the wealthy, she had simply sacrificed practicality for aesthetics. The shine of the hardwood floors and the opulence of the house in general would certainly support such a theory.

As the samurai lead Naruto down the various hallways and up two flights of stairs Naruto was stunned at the number of blond boys' he saw doing various activities. He saw them doing everything from studying to playing board games with one another. Most seemed at least slightly older, but Naruto thought at least one seemed younger than him. Some of the blonds seemed relaxed, mostly the older teens, but many seemed fidgety and nervous. Despite the obvious comfort they lived in many had bags under their weary eyes.

Finally the samurai lead Naruto into what could only be a study or office. The room was painted in a neutral shade; something close to white, but not so harsh on the eyes. The desk seemed old and sturdy, and was covered with stacks of papers and a calligraphy set. Several bookshelves were set against the walls, each filled with large tomes and scrolls with labels that suggested they related to finances and law. A large safe was built into one wall. Behind the desk is a large picture window which overlooked the gardens.

Sitting in a chair behind the desk was a stunningly beautiful woman dressed in a simple yet flattering yellow kimono. Her long straight black hair and heart shaped face were complemented by warm brown eyes, a petite nose, and full lips. She possessed a lean frame and modest bust. As she looked up from the documents before her a small frown graced her features at the disturbance. Then her eyes lit up with joy and excitement as they fell upon Naruto.

"Ahh Satoshi-san, I see you have brought my sochi to me!" The woman exclaimed with almost childish delight.

"S-sochi?" Naruto did not need to fake the surprise which played across his face in that moment. Furthermore, he could not suppress the hope and vulnerability which played behind his eyes as her heard those words. During the early years of his life Naruto had often dreamed, even prayed, that one day someone would call him son. Mr. Higurashi was a good role model, but he never called Naruto sochi, eventually the smith had settled into the role of a mentor, and uncle. To finally have that prayer answered, by a woman who he knew for a fact intended to sleep with him, and who he was ordered to kill; Naruto was well past surprised. Confused, and terrified were a start, but it was more than that. Naruto was experiencing the beginnings of doubt, a doubt which would make what he had to do all the more difficult.

"Mhmm." The woman hummed, as a kind smile played across her face. "I'm your new kaasan, which makes you my new darling sochi."

With graceful movements the lady Suki stood from behind her desk and came to kneel in front of Naruto.

"And aren't you just the most darling little thing. Those adorable whisker marks! You are going to be such a handsome young man in a few years!"

The lady Suchi reached out and cupped Naruto's cheek before rubbing at his whisker marks with her thumb. Much to the surprise of all three a low rumbling noise began to emanate from the young blond as his eyes drifted shut and he leaned into the contact. In the back of Naruto's mind, he realized he was purring, but amidst everything else he was feeling this revelation hardly made a dent. Lady Suki's eyes sparkled with delight at the revelation.

"Satoshi-san, please go and gather the standard fee, plus fifteen percent. Inform the kind men who brought my sochi home that I am very pleased. Oh, and please push back any appointments I may have had for the day."

With a stiff bow Satoshi left them. Still caressing Naruto's cheek she spoke in a warm tone.

"Now then sochi, we need to get you cleaned up and you need to tell me _all_ about yourself." Taking Naruto's hand she led him out of the office. "The first thing we need to do is get you bathed and into some better clothes."

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And so the day went. Lady Suki lead Naruto through the house, showing him where everything was and introducing him to everyone and all the time asking him questions. She asked about his likes, his dislikes… his name, eventually. And all day the sense of doubt which plagued Naruto grew. The woman was a pedophile, the signs were everywhere, and just being around the woman left Naruto feeling… dirty.

Despite that, the constant affection, the hugs, the compliments; it all wore away at Naruto. He needed to kill the woman. He wanted to hate her. Even knowing what she had planned, the things she was doing made him feel wanted, it was hard for such a lonely child to hate someone who wanted him.

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"Come along, Naruto. It's time for bed, and we don't have a bed for you yet." Lady Suki called as she stood from the dinner table.

The other blond boys sitting around the dinner table winced and shot Naruto pitying glances, though several of the younger ones seemed relieved. Gulping Naruto clung to his role as a vulnerable child confused and unaware of what was happening.

"B-but kaasan," The blond had to bite down a wince at calling the woman that, but he managed. After all, she had insisted he call her that, and he had already been warned to follow her every whim. "I-if I don't have a bed, where will I sleep?"

"Why with me of course!" Her smile was warm and inviting, but her eyes slid up and down his frame. With a gulp Naruto stood and took her outstretched hand allowing himself to be lead through the halls to her bedchamber.

The room was meticulously clean, filled with gleaming wooden furniture, the bed piled with blankets and pillows. Despite the outward image the air was thick with a scent Naruto was unfamiliar with. It was like sweat, but it was more than that. It was, almost sweeter, heavier, a musk. The smell made Naruto squirm. It was enticing, inviting, but in a way that Naruto had no experience with. The overall effect was extremely unsettling.

Lady Suki waltzed across the floor her hips swaying in a hypnotic rhythm. Her clothes slowly slipped from her form before pooling on the floor. With a Lazy turn she reached out and pulled the young Naruto toward her. Naruto's mind rebelled at the social taboo of seeing the woman nude and turned his head away blushing profusely.

"Now sochi, it's time to learn how to keep mommy happy." Her eyes slid closed and a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

"K-kaasan?"

Her hands pulled away Naruto's clothes with practiced ease as she slowly drew him towards the bed.

"Come my little sochi, time for your first lesson, and then you can sleep in my arms."

Naruto steeled his nerves, and took a deep breath; this was the moment, the point of the mission. In his mind he ran through the lessons the lectures, the tips he had been given. In that moment he pushed everything else aside, the feeling of being wanted by this woman, the reluctance to take a life, all of it was shoved from the front of his mind. He would deal with those emotions later.

In one quick and fluid motion, he struck. With a small burst of chakra a knife burst into existence over the seal on his right arm. With a quick motion he grabbed it out of the air in a forward grip. His left hand clapped over the lady Suki's mouth and his right dragged the knife blade across her throat. He was almost stunned at the ease with which it bit into her neck.

Her eyes bulged wide and blood spurted out of the gash in her neck. Naruto continued to push his hand up against her mouth to prevent her from making any noise in case he had not cut her windpipe along with the artery. He fought to keep her pressed against the matrass as her arms beet against his sides pointlessly trying to throw him off. One very long, terrified, minute later life left the lady Suki's eyes, and her struggling stopped.

Three hours later, in the dead of night, a blood stained Naruto slipped out of the emergency exit of the mansion. He stumbled up to the waiting group of chunin before collapsing.

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	4. Chapter 4

NSS 1.4 AN: I do not own Naruto

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For three months Naruto faded in and out of depression. He went to class, he went to therapy, he threw himself into his sealing practice to further develop the guns, and he trained. Slowly Naruto pulled himself back together with the help of Mr. Higurashi and his psych nin. After the first two weeks Mr. Higurashi forced Naruto into taking the empty room above the forge instead of letting the boy continue to live in his old apartment, alone. Iruka did his best to show the blond his support taking him out for ramen when there was time and giving him a few pointers after classes.

For those three months the Hokage had put off answering Naruto's question about why the villagers hated him for fear of exasperating Naruto's existing mental stress. But Naruto's psychiatrist assured the aged leader that Naruto's mental state had stabilized, that he was well on his way to working through what had happened. So the time had come for Naruto to receive his second answer, and to come to grips with his burden.

{}{}{}{} Hokage's Office

Naruto stepped into the office with none of his standard cheer or pep. Instead the young blond walked solemnly. Also absent was his normal orange pants and jacket, Instead he wore black boots, brown pants, and a deep green hooded sweatshirt. The boys blond hair was hidden behind simple black hat with a jutting front that shaded his blue eyes (AN: Baseball hat). The standard weapon pouches were fixed to his legs and waist along with two separate pockets for scrolls, one on either leg.

"You wanted to see me, Jiji?" Naruto asked, hesitating slightly before using his chosen moniker for the village leader.

"I did. Naruto, what's with the hat?" The Hokage asked having never seen a hat like it before, and choosing to ignore the slight stumble in Naruto's greeting.

"You like it? I made it to keep the sun out of my eyes."

"Clever, but you may want to reconsider. While it will keep the sun out of your eyes it will also create a blind spot above you."

The blond blinked then took the hat off and put it back on, and repeated the process several times before cursing mildly and putting the hat into the pocket on the front of his sweatshirt.

"Not something to wear on missions then, I guess. Still it's good for wandering around the village." Hiruzen nodded agreeing with the boy's analysis. "I appreciate the tip, but that can't be why you wanted to see me."

"It is not. I've been holding off on the last pieces of your mission pay until your psych nin thought you were ready to handle it. I would have told you when you came back but the mission placed you under a great deal of stress, and it was decided to wait and see how you were coping before piling more worries on you." Naruto simply waved away the explanation.

"It's alright; I wasn't… it's alright. So, you're going to tell me why people hate me now?"

"Indeed. You may want to sit down for this."

While Naruto got comfortable in one of the seats across the desk, Hiruzen went about filling and lighting his pipe, taking the time to inhale several calming breaths before addressing Naruto once more.

"Twelve years ago the nine tailed fox attacked this village. That is only a partial truth. The true story is more complicated. Since the time of the first Hokage this village has kept the nine tailed fox captive, sealed inside human beings, the only kind of prison capable of containing so much power." Naruto sat silently, taking in the information but not visibly reacting beyond twitches and the widening of his eyes.

"There are two flaws with sealing of the nine tailed fox. The first is that because it is more powerful than the other eight bijuu it takes a person who possesses an incredibly strong life force to contain. It takes an Uzumaki, a clan known for their longevity."

Naruto's grip on the edge of his chair tightened considerably. Rapidly his mind churned out revelation after revelation. With dawning sense of dread Naruto bowed his head and asked questions to which he already knew the answer.

"So I am from a clan? Uzumaki really is my last name?"

"It is."

"And the fox is sealed inside me, isn't it?"

"... It is."

For several minutes Naruto sat silently assimilating the new information, looking at it from the point of view of an amateur sealer.

"You haven't had me banished, or locked up. You're letting me train to be a ninja. So the seal must be strong, right? Strong enough to keep the fox locked up?" Naruto was fairly sure his assessment was accurate, but this was too important. He needed confirmation.

"It is. The reaper death seal, your seal, is probably the most sophisticated seal in existence. To apply that seal the fourth had to make a deal with the Shinigami, who then took his soul in exchange for sealing the fox in you."

Once more Naruto lapsed into silence.

"The villagers know about the fox, but they don't understand or trust the seal, is that about right?"

"Sadly, yes. The fourth had hoped you would be seen as a hero. Unfortunately the village did not live up to his expectations in that regard."

"You said there was a second flaw in sealing the nine tailed fox. What did you mean?"

"The second flaw is that when a female jinchuriki, which is the term for people with demons sealed inside them, gives birth it weakens the seal. That is how the fox escaped your mother on the night of your birth."

Naruto's eyes went wide.

"So I _am_ the re-"

"No!" The Hokage cut him off with a shout. His eyes blazed as he rejected the very idea of it. "You cannot be blamed for what happened. Your birth came almost a week and a half early, and your mother's labor was incredibly short. The fourth was only halfway through the process of reinforcing the seal when you were born. He simply wasn't fast enough to finish in time."

The Hokage stared off into nothing as memories of that horrible night played through his mind.

"Once the fox was released everything went to hell, and the entire village had to fight to buy the fourth time to complete your seal. Your mother and father died defending you from the fox."

Naruto nodded and stayed silent. It was a great deal to take in.

"I should let you know Naruto, only the adults are aware of your status. I passed a law forbidding people from discussing any of this. Your generation has sadly picked up on the way the adults treat you, and emulated it."

Again Naruto remained silent, though he nodded sadly.

"The clan symbol you gave me, was it really mine?"

"Yes, that is the Uzumaki clan symbol."

Naruto's eyes clenched tightly closed.

"Why? Why not use a fake name? Why not a more solid deception, why give me any link to my true identity at all?"

"Honestly? Because it wouldn't have mattered." Naruto's eyes shot wide.

"Any spy would know to keep a close eye out for people who are ostracized by the village for several reasons. The first is that those individuals are the easiest to turn against Konoha, the other is that jinchuriki are often treated as you have been, or worse. And while your mother certainly made enemies your last name is no proof of either of your parent's identity, and I'm more concerned with keeping your father's name hidden than your mother's."

The Hokage took a moment to gather his thoughts and to take several more puffs from his pipe.

"I have no doubt that spies and village leaders know of your status and _suspect_ your mother's identity. However, there is a difference between spies, people who know when and how to keep their mouths shut, and village leaders who are afraid to risk starting a war knowing who you are, and every shinobi with a grudge knowing."

Naruto cocked his head to the side questioningly.

"Mist is in no position to do anything as they have just entered into a civil war. Sand is our ally therefore our strength is at least partly their own. Stone and Lightning are both recovering from the last great war so their leaders must step carefully to avoid starting another. Lightning is on thin ice already after the Hyuuga incident. However, shinobi from those villages might be less inclined to think through the ramifications of their actions and simply attack you."

Hiruzen shook his head to clear it of idle thoughts. Naruto nodded his in understanding.

"So basically, it didn't cost you anything to admit I'm an Uzumaki... because that doesn't confirm who my parents were, just that one was an Uzumaki who might not have even been a shinobi, and they would have had eyes on me no matter what you did, right?"

"Correct."

The pair lapsed into a semi comfortable silence, for a time. Then Hokage decided to explain some of what being a jinchuuriki meant for the blond.

"I believe I offered you an alternative to the bunshin, Naruto. I think along with that you deserve a better explanation of the pros and cons of being a jinchuuriki."

"There are benefits to having a demon trapped inside me?" The blond asked as he arched one eyebrow. Hiruzen chuckled in response.

"Well for one your Chakra reserves are already truly massive, even by jounin standards, and they will only continue to grow. Unfortunately this means that fine control, and therefore low powered jutsu like the bunshin and genjutsu, will be forever beyond your abilities. Thanks to the demon's chakra you heal at an unnatural rate and have unbelievable stamina. Eventually, once you learn to harness some of the fox's chakra, all of these things will come together to make an unmatched heavy combat specialist, which is a good launching point for your goal of Hokage."

Hiruzen shot the young blond a warm smile. That smile morphed into a confused expression as he noticed Naruto grimacing.

"Eh hehe about that um, Jiji see… the thing is I uh, I don't really want the hat anymore." Naruto admitted hanging his head. Hiruzen's eye shot wide open at this declaration. "And I ugh, I don't want to be a heavy combat specialist. I've been training for stealth and assassination missions for awhile now. I've got some ideas, tactics using the guns I've been making with Mr. Higurashi, and some other ideas too. Jiji, you sent me on that mission, and I get that it was necessary, but… but I can't do that. I don't think I could ever do that to anyone, and I don't want any other kid to ever have to go through that."

Naruto paused before resuming speaking, this time with a steely edge to his voice. "So I'm going to specialize in assassination. I'm going to be the best at it. I'm going to get so good that I'll be able to kill people like the lady Suki in spite of all their guards. So no other kids ever have to do that!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen, third Hokage of the village hidden in the leaves, sat stunned. He loved Naruto like a grandson, but at the same time the boy represented a military asset. The boy was a chakra powerhouse who in time would be able to fight for hours without rest. In times of war jinchuuriki were expected, even needed, on the front lines where they could send whole battalions running for their lives. Between the losses in the last war and the losses caused by the nine tailed fox's release, the village was in a precarious position. That their jinchureki was only twelve, and barely trained, in no way helped.

While a skilled assassin could turn the tide of battle, even war, it was not nearly as good a deterrent as a shinobi who could call up the chakra of a raging demon. That Naruto wanted to make sure no other child ever needed to undertake such a mission was a heartwarming, though likely hopeless, ambition. Assassins capable of slipping into heavily guarded compounds, getting the kill, and then getting out were rare. Even among ANBU veterans that sort of mission could easily end badly. That Naruto intended to make a career out of exactly that sort of mission was troubling in the extreme.

"Naruto, what are you talking about? Don't you want to be a ninjutsu specialist?" The Hokage asked, trying to maintain the kindly grandfather visage. "Thanks to your tenant, and your reserves, you are going to have enough chakra to throw high powered jutsu around like water in a rainstorm. With proper training and the right combinations you have the potential to wipe out armies all on your own. And if you can learn to use even a fraction of the fox's chakra you could be the most powerful shinobi the leaf has ever produced."

He went on to explain, seeming to think the concept would excite Naruto. Instead Naruto stared at his aged leader as if the man was spewing clouds of pink gas and chattering like a squirrel.

"Jiji…. are you stupid or something?"

Of all the responses that the Hokage could have received this answer was not something he had ever even considered. Reaching into his side pocket Naruto produced a scroll and quickly unsealed its contents showing the twisted wrecks of several gun barrels. The Hokage blinked in confusion.

"Jiji, I get what you're saying. I'm a weapon, or I could be. But you mentioned two other people who've had this done to them before right?"

"Yes."

"Did either of them ever use the fox's chakra before? Did they leave behind any helpful tips on how to go about it? Did they experience any side effects?"

"Well no, but"

"So Konoha has never weaponized a, what did you call us, Jinchuriki, before. These," Naruto swept a hand over the broken guns "are some of my mistakes when Mr. Higurashi and I were building guns. Even though we thought we understood the math and the technique we messed up the little details and they literally blew up. Too much of a newer, more potent, batch of gunpowder. The barrel of the gun narrowed out halfway down and the bullet got stuck. A weak spot in the metal we didn't notice." As Naruto spoke he pointed at different twisted hunks of metal.

"And these are just some of the ones that blew up. For every explosive failure we _used_ to have two that survived firing but have some other issue we never would have expected that make them useless."

The aged leader seemed confused as to where Naruto was going with this, which only further frustrated the blond.

"Jiji, I'm the third person to ever have this done to them right? And you said neither of the two before me ever tried to tap into the furball?" The Hokage nodded. "So there is no possible way of knowing what will happen, because no one has ever done this before. The best case scenario is that I get all that chakra with no drawbacks. The worst is I try to tap into the things chakra and it escapes, killing me and everyone else when it does. It took me seven tries to make a gun that fired accurately and survived repeated firing."

"Naruto, what is your point?"

"My point is I'm basically one of the earliest stages of an experimental weapon, and testing an experimental weapon gets more dangerous as the weapon gets more powerful. I've got the nine tailed fox sealed inside me… It doesn't get _any_ more powerful, and dangerous, than that. You might be in a hurry to see if your weapon turned out to be a success, but I'm not. I like not being spread across half of the village."

The Hokage fumed in his seat.

"Your seal is the master work of Minato Namikaze, the fourth Hokage! It is perhaps the most complicated seal in existence with the possible exception of the fourths Hirashin!" Naruto continued to stare at the Hokage like the man was delusional.

"It was still the first time he used the seal on anyone, let alone to seal a demon inside of them. Which means everything about the seal is theoretical, and if he misjudged me, the demon, or any aspect of the seal, using the damn thing could turn out to be a death sentence. Soooo no, screw that. I'll stick to designing the ultimate long range weapon. Then I can be Konoha's best assassin. It's smarter and way cooler." Naruto nodded to himself as if he was stating an indisputable truth of the universe.

"You have a duty to your village! The Yondaime entrusted you with this power so that you could use it to protect the village!"

"Well he never asked me! The stupid thing has brought me nothing but trouble, and I'm not going to commit suicide by fox to satisfy your curiosity about your weapons potential!"

"You have a duty to protect th-"

"THE HELL I DO!" Naruto roared, lurching from his seat to slam open palms on the Hokages desk. "This village treats me like shit! I'm an outcast and I can count on one hand the number of people who treat me well! If I really have a duty to protect them, then I fulfill it just by not letting the fucking fox _out_! That's all the ones before me did, and that's all I'll do."

For a moment the office fell silent before Naruto resumed speaking.

"I asked you to tell me why they hate me as proof that I could trust you. I'm willing to serve this village, hell I _want_ to serve! But I'm not going to go and play 'poke the demon fox, and see what happens'."

Smoke curled lazily from the Hokage's pipe as it swirled around his aged face. The man's eyes were cold and hard, they spoke of countless atrocities committed in both war and peace. For the first time Naruto truly understood that the Hokage was not just the leader, but the most efficient and powerful killer in a city of killers. Cold calculations and plans buzzed through the aged leader's mind. Finally he settled on a course of action.

"I'll make a bet with you Naruto. You want to be an assassin? Then you need to prove to me that you would be more useful as an assassin then as a combat specialist."

The blonde's eyes light up with fire at the challenge to his newfound life goal.

"How?"

"I'll give you until graduation to prepare. The week before the academy graduation exam you will be excused from classes. For the duration of that week I will stay at an agreed upon location while I send a shadow clone to see to my daily business within the village. You must assassinate that shadow clone and make your way to the border of fire country without being captured, and without harming any Konoha shinobi who are sent to pursue you. You pull that off and you will have proven to be potentially the most skilled assassin in the elemental nations. You fail; you shift your focus to heavy combat."

Unholy glee shone through Naruto's blue eyes as he stared down the Hokage.

"You're on Jiji." The blond said with a vicious grin. "Now what was is you were saying before about an alternate to the bunshin?"

"Ah yes, the kage bunshin no jutsu, here let me show you the seal…"

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	5. Chapter 5

AN: First, I tried to write a Mizuki incident, but I couldn't come up with a good motivator for Naruto to break in and steal the scroll, and I can't honestly see a chunin as being capable of breaking in and successfully stealing something that should be under some of the village's heaviest security. Honestly my headcanon is Naruto tripped an alarm pulling it off which is why the Hokage showed up, and anyone else would have gotten swarmed by ANBU. So Mizuki got caught and had his ass thrown in T&I. Now I find myself with little to write before graduation. Still, I did want Naruto to have at least one friend going forward.

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Hinata Hyuuga stood outside of one of the villages best forges, gathering her nerve.

Six months ago Naruto had disappeared from classes for two weeks before coming back in different clothes and acting in a very non Naruto manner. Everyone knew what had happened, but no one talked about it. Seduction/assassination missions were one of those things the students liked to tell horror stories about during lunch.

People stopped telling those stories after Naruto came back.

Most students acted nervous around the blond. They might all be training to be killers, but that didn't change the fact that Naruto was the first among them to actually take a life. That knowledge stuck in the mind of all of his classmates keeping them constantly at arms length from the blond. They were not really afraid, not fully, though many were cautious. Oddly though Naruto's work ethic had improved from the experience, but his constant friendly smile had disappeared. It was starting to make a comeback, popping up now and again, but it was more subdued and would be gone again as fast as it appeared.

So Hinata took it upon herself to check up on her crush. True it had taken six months to build up the courage to do so, but she had done it. For that reason she had spent more than a half hour standing outside of Naruto's new home, building up her resolve for that final push, and trying to figure out when the boy had moved from his old apartment on the edge of the red light district to a forge. Finally, with a deep breath, the young girl pushed open the door to the forge. The chime of a small bell announced her presence.

"Just a sec!" A boisterous voice called from the back. The sound of two people arguing drifted through the air growing louder and clearer with each step.

"Look kid, I'm telling you the revolving mechanism is the solution to the rate of fire issue!"

"It's one solution, and it works great for your pistol designs, but it will never work for the rifles."

"Of course it will! I made prototypes and everything! You said yourself they survived firing! The kick didn't even dispel that new clone of yours!"

"Well yeah it survived firing no problem, but it throws all the work I've done on flash suppression, and getting rid of the smoke right out the window! Not to mention I'll never stand a chance at silencing one of the subsonic versions. Well, maybe silencing one doesn't really matter those don't have the same range."

"Damn, I hadn't thought about that. Don't throw out the idea of silencing a pistol though, that'd probably be more useful anyway since the range is so much shorter."

"Maybe, though I really don't have enough room for seals on the pistols as is. I'm getting close to working out the special storage seals at least. The only problem is they release the bullets all at once, or some of them come out backwards. Oh, hey Hinata." Naruto said as he opened the door leading from the forge into the storefront.

"Well as I live and breathe, a Hyuuga, in my weapons shop! My names Higurashi, you apparently know Naruto already, but in here he's my assistant."

"Assistant!" The blond squawked. "I'm half the research and design team, and the entire product testing team!"

"Well I'm the other half of the research and design team, and I'm the one who makes the custom weapons that keep this place in business. All of which is how we pay for our experiments. So that makes me the boss and you whatever I decide to call you"

Naruto grumbled while Hinata blinked owlishly. This was not what she had expected. Naruto was acting a lot like his old self here, but the things he was talking about seemed so strange.

"Now then, what can we do for a young Hyuga? We mostly do custom weapons but we do carry the standard ninja gear; kunai, shuriken, wire, a selection of basic knives, the works, if that's what you're looking for."

Internally Mr. Higurashi was crossing his fingers and chanting prayers that the girl would buy one his non standard items. Since the founding of Konoha there had been a bet between each and every weapon shop owner about who would be the first to sell one of the Hyuuga clan members something other than kunai and shuriken. After the first ten years they decided to sweeten the pot by adding to it every three years as well as allowing newer stores to join in. No one had ever won that money. The total sum would fund his and Naruto's gun experiments for years.

Sadly the man's dreams of several years of easy living and a vacation to the nearest beach resort were crushed mercilessly when Hinata shook her head.

"N-no, I'm came to s-see how N-naruto-kun was doing. He h-hasn't been himself lately. S-so I came to check up on h-him." The young girl managed to get out as she nervously poked her index fingers together.

Naruto tilted his head to the side, confused as to why Hinata would worry about him. Mr. Higurashi on the other hand noticed the touch of red gracing Hinata's cheeks and smiled warmly, happy to see that there was at least one person Naruto's age that cared about the boy.

"I'm alright Hinata. I've just been dealing with a lot of stuff the last few months. That and I only have three and a half years to be able to assassinate the Hokage! So I really have to work my but off!"

Hinata's eyes grew wide at the supposed planned treason. Mr. Higurashi slapped Naruto upside the back of the head.

"You moron, you can't say it like that or you'll give people the wrong idea! Hyuuga-san please don't take what this idiot said seriously. He and the Hokage have a bet. The week before graduation Naruto has to try and assassinate a shadow clone of the Hokage in order to become an assassination specialist. If he fails he has to train to be a heavy combat specialist."

Hinata breathed out a sigh of relief that her crush was not planning to betray the village and kill its leader.

"You know I bet we could make the guns work as heavy combat weapons too, though we would need to take our research in a completely different direction to do that." The blond mumbled.

"True, might be able to finally put the shotgun to use."

Naruto hummed his agreement.

"I-I'm sorry, what is a, g-gun?"

"Oh uh, there umm, hmmm." Naruto scratched the back of his head and shot Higurashi an inquisitive look.

"I suppose we could show you." The smith said crossing his arms over his chest. "Knowing what they are is useless unless you're a great smith and budding sealing prodigy. Honestly doubt anyone but the two of us could throw together a decent one, without our notes or years of experiments anyway. Just promise to keep this to yourself alright?" Hinata rapidly nodded her head.

With a dramatic gesture Naruto lead the group into the back of the shop. The coals still lit the forge making the room unusually warm. Hinata found herself unzipping her jacket which normally hid the fact that she was an early bloomer. The poor girl blushed crimson when she caught Naruto staring, slightly slack jawed. With an awkward cough Naruto grabbed up Higurashi's latest invention, the revolver, and his latest rifle design which was equipped with his first fully successful flash suppressor, though he was still struggling to get rid of the smoke. Attached to the rifle was his prototype scope. That idea showed promise but he had no way of adjusting to cross hairs yet.

"These are our two most recent creations. The small one is Mr. Higurashi's, we're calling it a revolver because of this thing." Naruto said as he gave the bullet chambers a spin. "And this," Naruto held out his rifle. "Is my latest rifle design, or sharp, whichever. We called it a rifle at first because we put rifling, grooves, on the inside of the barrel, but now we do that for the smaller guns too so we needed a new name. We call it a sharp because the bullets it shoots are kind of pointy."

"B-bullets? Shoots? I-I'm sorry but I d-don't understand."

Mr. Higurashi chuckled while Naruto facepalmed.

"Right, might be easier to just show you."

Naruto lead the duo down into the firing range he had some clones dig out beneath the basement. Quickly sketching out a person on sheet of plywood which he hung at the end of his little twenty meter shooting range Naruto pulled up the rifle. Sliding back the bolt he slid a bullet in before closing up the gun again and raising it to his shoulder. The blond let his chakra flow through the seals on the gun priming it. Taking only a moment to aim Naruto squeezed the trigger.

Hinata heard a loud crack which echoed in the enclosed space, and saw a rough hole appeared in the target's head. The sensation of her jaw dropping never even registered as she glanced back and forth between Naruto and the target. The blond simply grinned.

"It's accurate up to about 500 meters. I think I need to know some more science and math to pull off further shots. Though thanks to trial and error, and keeping careful records, I'm slowly improving that range." The blond boasted.

Hinata's jaw was now swinging in the breeze. An archery specialist might, _might_ , be able to consistently land a killing shot at 45 to 50 meters! With some clever wind manipulation and a poisoned arrow head that range might be bumped up to 70 or 80 meters. But to be able to kill someone at 500 meters! The ramifications of such a weapon stunned the girl to silence.

"I'm pretty sure I could pull of the first part of my bet with the Hokage already with just this. I mean ANBU are good, but a half decent bit of cover and they would never even see me. After all, unless you know this thing existed no one would ever think to scan for threats that far out. The problem is I also need to get to the border of fire country to win the bet. I'm good at stealth but if one of our sensor nin or a Hyuuga, get in.. range…."

Naruto's voice trailed off and he adopted a contemplative look as he stared at Hinata. Mr. Higurashi new that look all too well. That was the look Naruto got whenever he was working his way through some brilliant new idea that would either fail horribly or revolutionize the way they went about making the guns or the tactics used with them. That look never failed to make him feel proud of his young partner and protégée. Hinata meanwhile was getting rather flustered by all of the attention from her crush.

"That's it!" Naruto shouted grabbing Hinata up in a hug before spinning her around in a circle and placing her back on the floor with a dazed dreamy look on her face. "Hinata, you're the solutions I've been looking for!"

"I am?" She asked still looking dazed.

"Damn right you are! If I can build a seal that hides me from your byakugan then it'll almost definitely work against sensor nin too! I bet I could base it off of the chakra suppression seal they're going to start teaching next month! I mean I'll have to mess with it a lot but I've already modified two seals and I'm well on my way to figuring out a third. It'll probably still need to blend into the surroundings though; maybe I can make something that will look like tall grass…"

Naruto shook his head and took out a notebook to start jotting down ideas.

"But that can all wait!" He said still writing. "You and your byakugan are the solution to my bandit camp simulations!"

"N-Naruto-kun, what are you talking a-about?"

"Huh? Are you asking about the seal and camouflage, or the bandit camp simulations?"

"B-both." The young girl responded nervously.

"Right, well I can already sneak around pretty well. I'm kind of a natural at it, and all the pranks I've pulled have made me even better. But I have a lot of chakra. So any Hyuuga, or half decent sensor nin can track me down no matter how good my stealth is. Not that there are many sensor nin, and I try not to piss off your clan because I know they can hunt me down if they really wanted to. Still for my bet with the Hokage I'm sure they'll send sensor nin, Hyuuga's and Inuzuka's after me, maybe Aburame too. I know a few tricks for hiding my scent and I think there is a seal they teach us in a few years that will do an even better job, but Hyuuga and sensor nin I need to invent a whole new kind of seal to slip past. If you're willing to help me out that'll really speed up the testing process!"

Hinata was a bit conflicted about helping to make a seal which eliminated the benefits of the byakugan, but the potential uses of such a seal for stealth and infiltration experts was staggering.

"The bandit simulations are simple. I send out a group of clones henged as bandits. Then I have to take them all out without any clones sounding the alarm. The first problem was landing killing shots at long distances. That's where the scope comes in, it's basically a telescope." Hinata nodded for Naruto to continue. "But that makes it so I can only see so much at a time. So if I take too long lining up my shot and a different clone moves it could see one of the others go down, or find a spot that's been marked to show that a clone was killed there. Then they raise the alarm and I lose. Another set of eyes, especially your byakugan could keep tabs on the whole group at once! The other problem I keep running into is groups of clones. I can't take them down fast enough to take them all out before a survivor sounds the alarm. Some of those I'd be able to pull off if I could shoot faster, but not all of them."

Again Hinata nodded following the problem the blond was having but not sure how she was the solution.

"Hinata, with your byakugan, as long as the target is inside your range, you would be able to keep tabs on all of the targets locations. You could tell me what order to go after the targets in so that my cover isn't blown. If we're working outside your byakugan's range we could give you a wide angle telescope, it wouldn't be as good as your doujutsu, but it would still be a lot better than me trying to do this on my own! I mean I could use clones and a telescope, but for anyone other than me they would definitely need a partner!"

Naruto scribbled away furiously in his notebook while Mr. Higurashi nodded along with the blonds points and was busy jotting down ideas in his own little book.

"But even better than that, if there was a second shooter we could work together to take out groups! Then I might finally be able to deal with clones that bunch together in two's and three's!" Naruto was practically bouncing off the walls of his firing range at this point and in his excitement once more scooped the girl up into a hug.

This finally proved to be too much for the young girl. Being praised as the solution to all of the problems Naruto was having with his strange weapon and the tactics, being hugged, not once but twice by her crush, it was truly overwhelming. With a goofy smile and a bright red blush Hinata Hyuuga fainted dead away.

When the girl finally came to the group would all sit down and begin to discuss the finer points of Naruto's new strategy, as well as how the guns worked and plans for future designs. Over the coming years Hinata would slowly gain confidence and develop a plan to change her clan for the better.

Her plan was simple; prove that the Hyuuga were squandering their potential by becoming a great ninja who used taijutsu only as a last resort. Branch out to develop skills in as many fields as possible, starting with stealth, shooting, and medical jutsu. When she reached a point where the clan had to acknowledge that her unorthodox choices were as good, or superior to, the entrenched dependency on juken she would claim her seat as clan head. From that position of power she would begin dismantling the old customs one by one until the branch and main houses were one, and young Hyuuga were free to pursue fields other than taijutsu.

And so once again an event came to pass which heralded the coming of great change.

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	6. Chapter 6

AN: I don't own Naruto.

Before reading any further go and google M40a3 sniper rifle... Badass right? 800 meter effective range, a five round magazine, and bullet velocity more than double the speed of sound (777m/s), that means at 800 meters the bullet impacts the target _just_ over a second after being fired! That will be Naruto's sniper rifle for now.

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Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at the front of one of the villages larger meeting halls. Or rather his shadow clone did. Filling the hall was the majority of the ANBU, his jounin, and many chunin.

"Everyone, please settle down so that we can begin!" The noise level in the room quickly dropped so that the ninja could hear why their leader had gathered them all together.

"First let me say that I am a shadow clone. My true self will be spending the next week as a guest at Mr. Higurashi's forge." The Hokage paused to let that sink in before quickly moving on so as to avoid being bombarded with questions. "For the duration of my stay there, shadow clones of myself will go about my usual routine. The reason for this is that I have a bet with a certain individual, the terms of which are as follows. This individual must 'kill' my shadow clone and escape to the border of fire country without being captured, and without harming any leaf nin. I'm unsure what method this person plans to use but for the duration of the bet my clone will be wearing this shirt, under its robes."

The Hokage held up a formfitting shirt which showed the heart spinal column and lungs.

"If my clone is destroyed this shirt will show where I was injured. The location of the injury, the time it takes for medical treatment to begin, as well as the type of weapon, will all be used to judge if the attack would in fact have resulted in my death."

Many of the ninja in the audience were nodding along. It was a well thought out test. However the fact that someone thought they were actually skilled enough to assassinate the Hokage while he was under guard was raising quite a few eyebrows among the assembled ninja. The clone slipped the shirt on before continuing.

"Now while I have the utmost faith in all of you, not to mention myself, should this person succeed I want you all to treat this as if it were a drill on the opening stages of a war, kicked off by my assassination, which means command is transferred jounin commander Shikaku Nara."

"Troublesome."

"Naturally that will mean sending trackers after my _killer_ ; it will also mean initiating a lockdown of the village. Guy, should the assassin manage to kill the clone and escape the village he will meet you and your team at the location in this scroll." The Hokage tossed the green clad jounin a small mission scroll. "You leave in one hour. Do not open that scroll until you leave the village. I won't have this person accusing me of cheating because the rendezvous location was inadvertently revealed before the test began."

"Yosh! My team and I look forward to meeting this youthful would be assassin!"

"Finally, keep in mind this is a test, don't go overboard, as soon as you are in kunai range they have orders to surrender. Of course that is only if you are aware of their presence. Until something happens please go about your normal business. Thank you for your time, you are all dismissed."

{}{}{}{} Three hours later.

A chunin burst into the Hokage's office where his clone was dutifully going through the most important pieces of paperwork, while his secretaries handled more minor issues.

"Hokage-sama! Naruto is defacing the Hokage monument!"

Hiruzen/clone sat there stunned for a moment, completely at a loss for words. His sudo grandson was supposed to be trying to assassinate him. So why was the boy pulling such a bonehead move now of all times? Messaging the bridge of its nose the clone stood from its seat and headed for the roof.

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 _This really wasn't all that hard._ Naruto mused to himself as he rested atop the fourth's head.

At 16 years old stood he stood at a respectable 5'10". He wore black boots and forest camo pants. His torso was covered by a dark green hooded armless poncho over a light grey long sleeved shirt. On his right shoulder was an Uzumaki clan symbol and on his left was the crosshair and green background. He wore metal backed black fingerless gloves and a pair of green goggles hung around his neck. His head was covered by a dark green ball cap turned backwards so the brim would not create a blind spot in his field of vision. The poncho was secured at the waste by brown belt, too which the blond had attached his equipment pouch, his combat knife hung from the same belt on his left side. Shuriken and kunai holsters were taped to his legs.

Below the blond was the Hokage monument. His graffiti had been tastefully simple. The first's cheeks now both sported the village's leaf symbol in green. The second had depictions of crashing waves converging on his face in blue and white. The fourth's head was surrounded by four Uzumaki spirals. The third's head however was the one Naruto could not stop grinning about. Smack dab in the middle of Hiruzen's stone forehead was the clan symbol he had adopted for a few short months before deciding to use it as the symbol for a sharp shooter after learning he really was an Uzumaki.

"And to think, all it took was some orange brown clothes, and a few gallons of chakra reactive invisible ink." Naruto mused aloud as he enjoyed the feel of the sun on his face.

Glancing over at the observation balcony a bit below the monument Naruto could not hold back the grin that spread across his face. Standing there well apart from anyone else was the Hokage. With a mad cackle Naruto leapt over to the third's head standing just above the design of the green filled scope.

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Naruto lay patiently about 700 meters from the Hokage atop an outcropping in the cliff side. He wore a ghillie suit designed to match the sparse dry growth which grew out of the cliff. Secure in his camouflage as a dying shrub the blond stared down the scope at the observation platform. Naruto kept his breathing even and calm. He had been camped out in this spot since before sunrise. He wasn't sure if the Hokage would actually show up, but he suspected the old man would poke his head out even suspecting this to be a trap.

Sure enough not five minutes after his act of vandalism had been discovered the village leader landed on the roof leaning up against the rail.

Naruto took a moment to make sure no one else was in his line of fire, and then squeezed the trigger.

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The single crack of rifle fire echoed out from the cliff face causing nearby civilians and ninja alike to look up at the mountain. Immediately their attention focused on the most obvious. The painted monument and the lone figure standing atop the thirds head.

Looking down from the monument Naruto laughed long, loud and hard as the village leader disappeared in a puff of smoke leaving behind only a shirt with a hole going through the upper half of the image of the heart. Considering the angle of the shot that would mean the bullet ripped clean through the vital organ. Squatting down Naruto tapped the crosshair image on the thirds head changing it into a blood red dot with an inconsistent line of red running down the entire length of the leaders face.

Oh the joke was morbid, and it would clue the jounin and ANBU into the fact that he was the person with whom the Hokage had made his bet, but that was fine, it was what he wanted. He wanted them mad and chasing after him. Mad meant sloppy, and sloppy he could exploit. Besides, almost no one had seen the clone go down and the few who had would be split between chasing him and trying to spread the word that the clone had been assassinated. That would slow things down considerably.

Deciding not to give them any more time than he already had Naruto took off in a race across the village.

Within moments two ANBU were on his tail. Naruto was good, but he wasn't nearly fast enough to outrun ANBU, let alone the Hokage's personal guard detail. But he was a clever bastard and he had preplanned his route. Snares, trip wires, paint bombs and even a bear trap heavily padded in rubber were all carefully concealed along his escape route. None of the traps were good enough to actually catch the ANBU, but several came close. It forced the pair of pursuers to slow down slightly. And that was all the blond really needed.

After a half hour long chase the ANBU finally caught up.

"Surrender Uzumaki, we are within kunai range!" An angry male voice called from behind a sparrow mask.

Still grinning like a cheshire cat Naruto came to an abrupt halt and held his hands over his head while going down onto his knees.

The ANBU bound the blond and shunshined with him to T&I where they placed him in a cell.

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Carefully the camouflaged Naruto sealed his rifle into his wrist seal and slipped up the cliff face, and around the village guards who patroled the peaks which made up the final portion of the city border. Carefully working his way down the mountain Naruto moved into the woods that surrounded the village. Taking only a moment to change into a ghillie suit better suited to the forest he would be traveling through. Naruto took off for the land of rivers to the south west. The victorious grin on his face spoke volumes.

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Sarutobi Hiruzen, God of shinobi and third Hokage of the village hidden in the leaves was not happy. While a vacation in a weapons shop and forge was not ideal, he had planned to spend the week drinking tea and reading the latest advance copy of Icha-Icha Jiraiya had sent him. Two hours into his book and his vacation he had received the memory of his clone dispelling, despite the clone being on its guard. He had no idea what had caused the clone to dispel or if the blow which had destroyed it was in fact a killing blow. Reasoning that Naruto could not possibly escape the village Hiruzen settled in and went back to his book intent on making the most of his inevitably short vacation.

Two hours later just before the beginning of a no doubt wonderful sex scene involving a pair of twin nurses and a can of whipped cream the Hokage's vacation was once again disrupted, this time by frantic knocking on the door of Mr. Higurashi's guest bedroom.

Cursing a blue streak Hiruzen marked his page and wrenched open the door.

"What?"

The surprised face of a Chunin message runner greeted the Hokage.

"Naruto Uzumaki has been captured and detained at T&I for the assassination of your shadow clone. He surrendered when the ANBU chasing him shouted that they were in kunai range as directed."

Hiruzen felt a twitch develop above his right eye.

"Has the method and success of his attack been verified?" The Chunin blinked twice before starting to fidget.

"Er, I'm not sure. I was just told to come get you and bring you to his cell."

With a grunt the Hokage followed the chunin out of the building. Both vanished in a swirl of leaves before appearing before the T&I building. Minutes later Hiruzen walked into a cell reading a report by the ANBU who had captured the blond. Inside Naruto sat in a chair leaned back on two legs and being held vertical with chakra.

"Yo, Jiji!" The blond enthused as he alternated between chuckling and cackling. Hiruzen shook his head.

"Alright Naruto, what were you thinking? Really, I mean it makes no sense. Painting the monument? Flaunting the fact that you were the one to destroy the clone? Running from ANBU through a course set with traps? What were you possibly hoping to accomplish?"

Rather than answer the blond just continued to laugh until finally he lost his balance and came tumbling to the floor where he continued to laugh while beating the floor with his fist.

"C-haha-come on H-Hokage-sama. Hahaha Sh-shouldn't the god of shinobi be able to figure it out on his own? Ahahaha!"

"Naruto…"

The Hokage's voice spoke of harsh punishments in the blond's future. It only made Naruto laugh all the harder. Finally losing his patience the Hokage slapped the blonde upside the head. Only to stare shocked as Naruto vanished in a puff of smoke. A piece of paper settled on the floor of the cell in the wake of the smoke. The note read; "Did you really think it would be that easy?"

Fighting the urge to slap a hand to his face the Hokage left the cell to tell his shinobi that they had captured a shadow clone, and while they tracked down the boy he would be back at the forge enjoying his book.

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Tsume Inuzuka lead a dozen of Konoha's best trackers as they examined the sight of the Hokage's clone's death. It hadn't taken long for the Hyuuga in the group to find the bullet buried in the roof of the observation platform, then follow the angle back to a ledge on the cliff face.

"I don't believe it." Kotetsu, a chunin, and one of the villages few sensor nin said as he looked at the indent in the dirt showing where Naruto had taken his shot from. "How the hell did the kid make that tiny piece of metal not only cover 700 meters, take the _Hokage_ by _surprise_ with it, _and_ get it accurate enough to go clean through the heart?!"

Tsume Inuzuka chuckled, part of her was pissed that so far the blond had made fools out of some of the village's best, but she had to appreciate the boy's boldness and style.

"I don't know, but we'll be sure to get it out of him once we track him down." The Inuzuka clan head said with a dark chuckle.

Taking a moment to sniff the air the woman frowned clearly confused.

"There's no scent… Damn it, I didn't think the brat would be this good. Spread out look for a trail, he probably went over the mountain and made his way into the forest!"

Twenty minutes later the hunting party picked up Naruto's trail as it headed off into the forest. Knowing that the blond already had almost three hours head start on them they moved as quickly as they could without risking losing the trail or being thrown off on a false trail. An hour into the chase Tsume stopped and cursed.

"Damn brat! Un fucking believable. He keeps switching from the trees to the forest floor at random to try and throw us off! Has anyone had any luck picking up his scent, or his chakra? Somebody give me something to work with here because at this pace we aren't going to be gaining much ground!"

A chorus of negative responses was her frustrating response.

Almost two hours later one the Hyuuga broke the silence which had fallen over the group.

"I've got something! Not sure what. It's moving at a good pace about a hundred meters ahead of us. It looks like a moving distortion made up of grass. Like a shifting heat haze."

"Take the lead! We are nailing that brat's ass to the wall for dragging us on this stupid chase!" Tsume barked out.

Putting on a burst of speed the group quickly closed the distance.

"Damn that brat! He stopped moving, or maybe he's moving a lot slower. I can't be sure. He dropped out of the trees and down to ground, whatever he's doing to hide his chakra works even better when he isn't moving."

"Just take us to where he was when you lost track of him!"

The Hyuuga nodded and lead them to an open field filled with tall grass, which as far as they could tell at a glance was empty.

Tsuma might have appreciated the blond's spunk and creativity in whatever he had done to avoid their best methods of tracking, but her patience for getting put through the royal runaround by a not even genin was long since used up.

"Naruto Uzumaki, get out here you brat! You've got three second to stand up and turn yourself in or I'm peppering the entire field with kunai, you hear me?!"

"I surrender, I surrender! Hold fire, I give up!" As the blond shouted a patch of grass in the middle of the field shifted becoming a green bog monster, shocking the entire group, the bog monster turned around slowly to reveal a depressed looking Naruto Uzumaki. The teen was covered head to toe in an outfit made of green string and yarn of various lengths.

"How the hell did you guys know I was in the field? I should have been invisible in there even to byakugan and sensor nin!"

"You were but when you were running you looked like heat haze." The Hyuuga responded with a frown, none too happy that the blond could fool his eyes to such an extent.

"Damn, still that's pretty good if I do say so myself."

"Yeah, yeah brat you can toot your own horn about how you almost pulled this off when we get back to the village." Tsume dismissed the blond.

"Eheh see about that….." Naruto vanished in a puff of smoke.

Most of the group cursed, but Kotetsu couldn't help but laugh at what Naruto had just pulled on all of them.

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Team Guy rounded the last bend in the path and arrived at the rendezvous point. Just outside the land of waterfalls to Konoha's North West. The group all blinked in surprise at the sight of a small campfire and a brace of rabbits being turned on spits over the fire by none other than Naruto Uzumaki.

"Yo." The blond waved to the group without even looking up from the rabbits.

"Naruto what are you doing here?" Tenten, who was a frequent customer at Higurashi's shop, asked.

"Hey Tenten, how's that tomahawk working out for you? Pull up a seat you guys, you must be hungry from the run out here."

The confused team decided to take Naruto up on his offer. As Naruto was handing out rabbits he also passed Guy a small scroll. The jounin grew wide eyed and set aside the rabbit before pulling open the scroll and quickly glancing back and forth between it and the blond.

"How? It's only been twelve hours!"

"I left two days ago, left behind about twenty clones, most of them henged as civilians. I had ten different plans. The clones had orders to go through the plans in order until one succeeded. I got lucky and the very first one worked perfectly." The blonde said with a massive grin.

The stunned expressions of the group had Naruto laughing until his sides hurt, and chuckling all the way back to Konoha.

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	7. Chapter 7

AN: I do not own Naruto. Big surprise, right?

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The shinobi council glared down at the grinning Naruto. The boy had put them all in a rather awkward spot. He had proven beyond any doubt that he was in fact a very skilled assassin, perhaps the best alive as there were precious few who could actually claim to have the skill to kill a Kage. However it also made the blond a security risk to the village as a whole, particularly due to the fact he had proven he could escape the village and go days before anyone realized he was gone.

That he had made fools out of three of them personally, and members of several of the others clans was also not helping their opinion of the blond. The only bright side to all of this was that Hiruzen refused to deal with the civilian council aggravating tensions by calling himself, and his shinobi, into question. So he had barred them from attending the meeting or being informed about recent events.

The Hokage finally had to admit to himself that his death glare no jutsu was still nonfunctional and with a sigh called the meeting to order.

"Naruto Uzumaki, you are here because you managed to kill my shadow clone, escape the village and make fools out of some of my best ninja in the process. While I realize at least some of these things are prerequisite to your winning the bet we had, the degree to which you have shattered the concept of village security is truly astounding. Therefor the entire incident requires investigation. You _will_ explain the whats, whys, and hows of everything you did over the course of your assassination exam. Is. That. Clear?"

Naruto's goofy smile disappeared as the Hokage spoke and by the end he was sitting at attention, his face a blank mask.

"Hai Hokage-sama! Where would you like me to begin?"

"Start with a basic outline of your strategy."

"Yes sir, the first step in my plan was to get out of the village and leave several clones behind in my place, to attempt to assassinate your own clone."

"Why?" Shikaku Nara spoke up. "Why would you make escaping the village you first move?"

"Because that was my only chance of escaping." That response startled several members of the council. "I knew for a fact that once Hokage-sama's clone went down the village would send its best trackers after me." Naruto paused to gather his thoughts.

"I'm good at stealth, my tricks and seals make me great even, but I still leave a trail moving through the woods. I'm not fast enough to outrun jounin or hunter nin outright. So the only option was to not be chased down. That meant a decoy, but you likely would have simply split the party to follow multiple trails and still caught up with me. I could have flooded the forest with clones, but it would have left me too tired to make it to the border before someone caught up with me, and there was always the chance of someone getting lucky and chasing the real me. So I left the villages two days early, arrived at the border and waited for my clones to either succeed or fail. Failing to destroy Hokage-sama's clone would have been a failure, but in a real mission failing and getting caught would have been worse."

"Why paint the monument?" Surprisingly the question came from the Aburame clan head. Naruto simply shrugged.

"It was a strategy, not a good one for a real assassination, but it was the best choice for this drill. Painting the monument drew the Hokage out of his office and right into the area I hoped it would. My kill zone. I had another clone camouflaged as a dying bush waiting on the outcropping the trackers found ready to take the shot. So long as no one else was in the line of fire, when and if the Hokage arrived. Not only that but it pissed everyone off and gave them a target to chase. That split the witnesses between spreading the word, getting aid if I hadn't nailed the heart, and hunting me down. All that bought me time and gave people the impression that they were dealing with the real me. That the drill called for my peaceful capture just let me delay things even more, which gave the clone who took the shot more time to run. With all of that, it really sold the idea that the second clone was the real me."

"A diversion, all one big fucking diversion!" Tsume cursed, feeling well and truly annoyed with the blond. Her frustration grew as she noticed a few of the other clan heads fighting the urge to laugh.

"Enough." The Hokage's chill voice instantly killed the slight amusement in the meeting room. "How did you destroy the clone?"

Naruto slowly rolled up the sleeve on his right arm exposing the sealing tattoo he had gotten when he was twelve. A quick burst of chakra and Naruto's rifle was in his hands. The weapon was around four feet in length, with a green stock. The rifle was tightly wrapped in forest camo tape inscribed with seals. Between the gaps more seals could be seen winding up and down the length of the weapon.

"This is the weapon I used to destroy your clone. It's one of several kinds of guns Higurashi-ojisan and I have been developing for the last eight years."

Naruto's explanation was met by a number of blank looks. With a sigh the teen launched into an explanation.

"You were all there when Higurashi-ojisan demonstrated his earliest model weren't you? A gun is a weapon that uses an explosion to launch a small piece of metal at high speeds. The early ones used gunpowder, but then I started to use sealing to replace the need for it with a heavily modified explosive seal. With all the experiments we do it really helped to cut costs. The larger tube at the front gets rid of the flash and smoke caused by the explosive seal. It's one of the trickier bits of sealing. This tube mounted on top is the scope, it's an adjustable telescope, and is the reason I can hit such far away targets."

Naruto deftly fingered a release mechanism on the guns' underside causing a small block of metal covered in seals to fall from the base of the gun which he then held up.

"This is an ammo clip; it stores several bullets for the rifle. When the previous bullet has been fired I pull back on this bolt," Naruto pointed to a small handle on the guns' right side. "which completes a release seal half inscribed on the clip dispensing the next bullet into the firing chamber."

Naruto reinserted the ammo clip and sealed the gun before pulling out a small pointed piece of lead. "This kind of gun shoots these, Higurashi-ojisan and I have been calling them sharps because they come to a bit of a point compared to the ones used for the smaller guns. This is the best long range gun we have developed so far, it is accurate at up to 800 meters."

Despite knowing the blond had taken his shot from roughly 700 meters away, finding out he could have taken the shot from even further out stunned many members of the council. Seeing this, the blond decided he had earned a tiny bit of gloating.

"I like to think of myself as 'the sharp shooter'." The blonde said with a cheeky grin. "I know you normally don't get a title unless you really impress the people who write the bingo books, but I figure I've earned the right to give myself one." His smug look and tone of voice quickly brought the assembled clan head and the Hokage out of thoughts on the potential for such weapons.

Hiashi Hyuuga while impressed with the boys accomplishments was in no way happy with them either. He had heard nothing but complaints and calls for the boys head for the past three days from the elders of his clan once word spread that the boy had a way to hide from the byakugan. Information he himself was greatly troubled by.

"How did your clone hide from the trackers?" The Hyuuga said while glaring down at the boy. While Naruto noticed the glare he didn't particularly care, it wasn't particularly more intimidating than any other glare he had received over the course of his life.

"Basic seal I learned at the academy to cover my scent and a _very_ heavily modified chakra suppression seal combined with my ghillie suit to hide in the forest. Those same seals are also on the tape I wrapped my gun in so that the slight chakra surge firing causes doesn't draw the attention of any sensor nin."

Before Hiashi could begin grilling Naruto about the seal he was interrupted.

"Ghillie suit?" Asked the clearly confused Akimichi clan head.

Naruto quickly pulled out a storage scroll and unsealed a pair of what seemed to be piles of grass, one green and the other a sickly tan.

"They're great camouflage, especially when I lie down to help stabilize the gun for long distance shots. With the seals to hide my scent and the ones that hide my chakra from sensors they make me almost invisible. I can use them to slip through any area with a lot of vegetation, at least so long as I don't have to move quickly, and even then they are still great camouflage."

"Hokage-sama, I must protest these seals the boy is using." Hiashi Hyuuga spoke. "They are clearly a threat to village security. The use of such seals by our enemies would invalidate the Hyuuga fighting style."

"You're joking right?" Everyone turned to stare at the blond.

"I tell you I've got a way to let our ninja slip into enemy hidden villages as if they were civilians, something that will let assassins freely go after targets guarded by sensor nin and then escape pursuit, and you you're worried about not being able to hit my tenketsu? You should still be able to see my physical body, even if you have to turn off your eyes to do it, which you shouldn't. It's not like anything stopping you from using your style to destroy my brain or my heart. After all I can hit those targets at 800 meters, you're clan ought to be able to do it at arm's length."

Naruto grinned foxily, while Hiashi fumed in his seat and several clan heads grinned at the boy's spunk and strategy. By negating the Hyuuga's argument and simultaneously making a challenge out of it pressing the issue would make him, and or his clan, appear weak. Naruto knew this, but rather than piss of Hinata's father further he decided it would be in his best interest to diffuse the tension and appeal to the man's ego.

"Besides Hyuuga-san, your clan would make excellent spotters or sharp shooters, would you want to deprive them of such a useful tool?"

Hiashi blinked at the shift of tone and tactic before raising a single eyebrow. "I know you referred to yourself as a 'sharp shooter' but what exactly is a spotter?"

"Well the scope on my gun limits what I can see, so a spotter's job is to keep an eye on all possible targets and call out the order in which they are eliminated. The Byakugan is uniquely suited for this especially because it allows your clansmen to see through tents and walls giving them the best possible understanding of the targets and area, if they are working within range of the byakugan. The secondary job of the spotter is to help the shooter take out groups of targets simultaneously so as not to blow cover, and to act as backup in general. Your daughter, Hinata, actually helped me test the tactic and is an excellent spotter. Also her aim is almost as good as mine."

Now Hiashi was truly surprised. Apparently his daughter had been very busy in her free time. Not only that, but his clan was being singled out as ideal for this kind of work because of her. It ran against tradition, but the potential of the guns was a truly interesting possibility.

"You say you've tested this tactic?" Shikaku spoke up. "How is it that you managed that?"

"Shadow clones henged as bandits who set up small camps in a training field that I have to pick off. Almost never managed it solo, but add in a good spotter with their own weapon for when it's needed and things become a lot simpler."

"You seemed to handle this test just fine on your own." Hiruzen grumbled.

"Well in this instance there was only one target." Naruto replied with a shrug. "So I didn't have to worry about not blowing my cover since I knew it would be blown no matter what I did, which again, is why I had the double diversion."

"What kind of training, or prerequisites, does learning this skill require?" The Hokage asked. "Given how effective you proved to be on your own it would be worthwhile to develop a team trained in this." The man took a moment to stroke his beard. "Though I can already see a need for cross training in mid and close quarters else we risk you being slaughtered in an ambush."

Naruto nodded seriously.

"We'd be most useful providing long distance support for assault teams, and running assassinations, but in this line of work overspecialization is a death sentence. Not to mention if we get rushed by a large force things may get dicey. I can nail targets that are just walking but a target moving at jounin speeds, is a lot harder to hit. Might be easier without the scope… maybe I should put some iron sights below the scope… but I'd have to remove the flash suppressor to use them which would take time... I could take that off beforehand sometimes I guess but still-"

A cough drew the blond out of his thoughts.

"Sorry! Umm, close up I'm not much at taijutsu, but my knife fighting is fairly good. I've got a few wind jutsu, and the shadow clone mastered as well, also a smaller gun better suited for close combat. My mid and short range needs work, but they're not too bad."

With a sigh the Hokage rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Naruto you've forgotten my question." The boy tilted his head confused. "What traits would make for a good sharpshooter or spotter?"

"Ohh, right, sorry." Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously. "Well like I said a Hyuuga with a good range makes for an ideal spotter. I understand that the sharingan increases reaction times, making things appear to be in slow motion? If that holds true than a sharingan user would have a great edge as a sharpshooter. Ignoring the unfair advantages of dojutsu though… being able to approximate distance and wind speed, and being able to do fairly complex calculations on the fly, ideally in your head are the required skills. Oh and stealth, can't forget that."

The council fell into silence.

"And you feel the best strategy is for teams to consist of a sniper and spotter, so a four man cell would contain two of each?" The Hokage asked. Naruto adopted a contemplative look.

"To be perfectly honest Hokage-sama, I really don't know. I've been making this up as I go, mostly on my own except for help from Hinata, and Higurashi-ojisan. Maybe two spotter sniper pairs would be best, or maybe three snipers and one spotter would be best. Maybe have four snipers working in sink. Or a sniper spotter team providing over watch for two stealth experts." The blond shook his head. "Most likely we'll find that certain combinations and tactics work best for different situations. If you really want to form this sort of team... odds are we'll be testing out different tactics for quite some time before we can put together a solid SOP."

From there the meeting dissolved into a roving debate as several clan head started to make cases as to why their children would be best suited for the first team of Konoha sharp shooters, and how that squad could be best used in various scenarios. While this kind of squabbling normally would have annoyed Naruto to no end, today it simply had him grinning from ear to ear. His and Higurashi-san's dream of making the gun a powerful and respected shinobi weapon was well on its way to fruition, as was his dream to become the world's greatest assassin.

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	8. Chapter 8

AN: Don't own Naruto. I'm going to draw some inspiration from "life starts at sixteen" by Another Reader, ( _ **which you should go read**_ ) for several post graduation personalities; they won't be photocopies or anything. I'm going to write them in a way that feels right to me.

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Genin team assignment day academy classroom.

Naruto was leaned back in his chair against the back wall his ball cap, now with his forehead protector stitched to the front, pulled low over his eyes as the boy flirted with sleep and daydreams. Many things spun through the over excitable boy's mind. New ideas for guns, the calculations for shots at various distances and wind speeds, ramen, fantasies about far off lands, and of course that which no straight teenage boy can go too long without thinking about, boobs.

The last was currently occupying the majority of his lazy musings and as such Naruto could not help but fight the small grin tugging at his lips, for which he earned a light smack on the arm from his constant companion Hinata Hyuuga. The girl was dressed in black pants and a dark grey hooded coat.

With a lazy groan Naruto fixed his hat and lowered the legs of his chair back onto the ground.

"And what, pray tell, was that for, Hinata-chan?" The girl simply gave him a flat look, making Naruto groan again. "How do you always seem to know what I'm thinking about?" His companion smiled disarmingly.

"Because Naruto-kun, you have a terrible poker face."

"I'll have you know I'm a great poker player."

"Yes, but only because all it takes for you to win is sit down and play whatever you are dealt." With a grunt Naruto conceded the point before glancing around to take in the rest of the classroom. Noting that no was paying them any attention he shot Hinata a cheeky grin.

"Not that you seemed to mind losing all that much last time we played." Naruto's eyes sparkled with a perverse light at the memory of his brief view a great deal of skin and two pieces of cream colored lace which had all but blended in.

The comment prompted another slap on the arm, this one with significantly more force behind it. Hinata's face lit up in one of her increasingly rare blushes at the recent memory of the first, and last, time she played cards with Naruto.

"If you ever want to see that much, or more, ever again you will not mention that. Ever. Clear?" Hinata asked her byakugan briefly activating while two of her fingers glowed faintly with chakra. She might still be a bit quiet, but in moments like this, where Naruto pushed her patience, she could get downright scary.

With a nervous chuckle and a gulp, Naruto rapidly nodded his head, holding up his hands in surrender. The strip poker incident aside the pair hadn't gotten very far, physically speaking, with their relationship. While Naruto had high hopes for the future he was in no rush. Their relationship meant a lot more to both of them than sex.

Both teens had suffered from emotional neglect for years. The start of their friendship when Hinata had come to check up on the blond all those years ago had marked a turning point for the pair. It was the point they found their first real friend in their age group. Naruto had given to Hinata his unwavering belief in her capabilities. Hinata had given Naruto the gift of knowing that one more person cared about him. The duo quickly became inseparable. That they had recently made the transition from best friends to more would have come as a surprise to absolutely no one.

Not that anyone aside from Higurashi knew. They were keeping that fact close to the chest. Naruto might have impressed the vast majority of the village's ninja but that was no guarantee of smooth sailing. Hiashi might approve now that the boy had made it clear that Hyuuga would play a central role in the new tactics that came with his weapons. However the Hyuuga clan elders still wanted the boy's blood for devising a seal to disguise his chakra from the byakugan. So for the moment at least they would keep things quiet.

The classroom held roughly thirty new graduates. It was a pitiful number when one considered that they had started with almost one hundred students eight years ago. Psychological breaks, training accidents, lack of dedication, lack of skill, all things that had ended carriers before they could begin. The remaining thirty might not like each other, but they damn well respected all of their fellow graduates simply for persevering to the end.

"Who do you think will be our third, or our sensei?" Hinata asked quietly as her gaze flickered from person to person. Naruto hummed in contemplation.

"I've been asking myself that ever since I got back into the village and I'm still not sure. The only reason I'm convinced you'll be on the team is because I made it clear you were already familiar with guns and are key to more than a few of my strategies... Clan heir, definitely a clan heir. The council all want their family name attached to what they think is going to be a team that'll be all over the history books."

Hinata nodded agreeing with her boyfriend's logic.

"Shino's got the brains and the composure for it, and his destruction bugs would be good in a pinch if things get close up, or if we needed to tail somewhere before taking them out. Shikamaru's also got the brains and I'd bet he could get behind 'lie around and wait' being his primary tactic. Then there's Sasuke."

"Sharingan."

"Exactly, it also keeps him back a bit from the front lines."

"Why would that matter?" Hinata asked raising a single delicate eyebrow.

"Better odds he survives long enough to get some girl pregnant." Naruto stated bluntly. Hinata scowled, she hated politics, particularly the kind that pertained to clans, and breeding. That hatred stemmed from the Hyuuga clan elders unflinching belief that no Hyuuga should marry outside of the clan, this was in spite of the fact that within two generations the inbreeding was guaranteed to begin causing genetic disorders. It was just one more practice that would need to go when she became clan head, especially because it would otherwise come between her and Naruto.

"So in other words it'll be the Uchiha." Naruto couldn't help but snort.

"He is the most likely, but without a clan head to go to bat for him on this... Political pressure might give it to one of the other two. Then there is the chance that as time goes by the Hokage might send more people our way. One or two from different teams just to make sure the skill doesn't die with us if the worst should happen to our team."

"It would also give the other teams another option in a pinch. If we do get Sasuke I'd bet on Hatake for our sensei. He is the only one left with a Sharingan to train Sasuke. If not, I'm really not sure, too many options and not enough information." Hinata murmured quietly picking up Naruto's train of thought.

The pair fell into silence. Hinata sitting with her back straight and Naruto resumed leaning against the wall with his chair on two legs.

Finally, Iruka walked into the room and gave the class a warm, proud smile. The man practically beamed when his eyes fell on Naruto. He was very proud of what his favorite student had accomplished before even graduating, even if he was not privy to how the boy had done it.

"Congratulations on passing! As your instructor I'm proud of all of you, and as you're superior I look forward to serving alongside all of you!" The scarred chunin declared proudly…

After a few minutes of listing off teams that no one cared about and who would likely amount to little in the grand scheme of things Iruka finally came to the teams that consisted of genin who were expected to go places, clan heirs and the odd civilian and orphan who had found their niche and excelled.

"Team 7; Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyuuga, and Uchiha Sasuke. Team 8; Sakura Haruno, Shino Aburame, and Kiba Inuzuka. Team 9 is still in rotation so team 10 will be Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akimichi, and Shikamaru Nara. Teams will meet back here after lunch with the exception of team 7. Naruto, I understand that you have specific orders on where to take your team." Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, I've got it. Come on Sasuke, Hinata and I'll show you to Higurashi-ojisan's place."

Sasuke stood slowly, and gave the two a curt nod. While outwardly he maintained his usual calm demeanor, inwardly the raven haired teen was rather curious about why his team was being singled out. While he could always just ask part of Sasuke discarded the idea reasoning that he would be told sooner or later.

As the trio made their way through the village Sasuke took the time to observe the pair he was following. Hinata, he knew, was fairly well versed in battlefield medical techniques and was better at stealth and infiltration than any Hyuuga her age had ever been before, and that her hand to hand, while good, fell far short of her cousin who had graduated the year before. While at first the girl had been extremely timid she had gained confidence over the years. All in all she was good, but her skill set was distinctly unorthodox for a member of her clan.

Naruto, was an even greater enigma. The blond was an orphan but he had some of the highest stealth, assassination, and trapping grades in academy history, and the largest chakra pool of the graduates by far. He knew a few wind jutsu and was top of the sealing class every year since it was first offered. His taijutsu was decent and he liked to augment his close fighting skill with several unusual knifes. Oddly enough none of those knives ever seemed to last more than 6 months and many didn't even last that long.

While the pair were not slouches in combat their areas of expertise were extremely different from his own. Sasuke specialized in nin and taijutsu. He was clearly a heavy combat specialist, so why was the Hokage pairing him with Naruto, a clear stealth and assassination expert, and Hinata who best filled a support role? Sasuke's thoughts were cut off as the group entered a small weapons shop. The bell above the door merely announced their arrival.

"Ojisan, I'm here with my new team!" A large man with thick arms sitting behind the counter perked up.

"Ah, Hinata, you poor thing! Stuck keeping this knucklehead out of trouble still, eh?" Naruto rolled his eyes while Hinata covered her mouth with one hand, not really hiding her soft giggle.

"Ha ha, very funny ojisan. Are Hokage-jiji and our new sensei here?" Higurashi's let loose a rumbling chuckle and shot the blond a warm smile.

"Yeah there in the back, they brought some take out with them, barbeque I think. Going to need my help with this?"

"It is going to be a lot of work."

"Right, and I'm finally getting paid by the village for it! I'll close up and meet you in the back. Then we can figure out where to start."

Naruto nodded and lead the other two genin into the shops forge and workspace.

As Sasuke glanced around the room Hinata's eyes turned directly towards a weapons locker, completely ignoring the Hokage and their new sensei, both of whom were looking over a small collection of scrolls. The weapons locker was meant to contain the guns she and Naruto had been training with for the past six months while the blond and his uncle figure had saved funds, and sketched designs for the next round of prototypes. The weapons locker that was now completely empty. Naruto, not noticing the absence of his creations, turned with an easy grin already on his lips to great the Hokage and the silver haired jounin.

"Naruto, where are the guns?" Hinata asked quietly her tone slightly worried. Naruto's head snapped around to stare at the empty weapons locker. Shock played across his features. Only he and Higurashi could open that locker and the absence of all four of the firearms it should contain was horrifying to the young man who invested so much time in their creation.

"Jiji… where the fuck are my guns?"

"Ah Naruto, your weapons are in the 'firing range' I believe Higurashi-san called it."

"Oh, that's fine then."

"Guns?" Sasuke asked doing his best to appear disinterested despite his quickly mounting curiosity.

"Indeed, Naruto-kun, and Higurashi-san have been working together for eight years now to refine a weapon created by Higurashi-san. It uses a small explosion to propel a piece of metal at truly frightening speeds, and lethal results."

Naruto beamed with pride while Sasuke attempted to reconcile that information with his previous understanding of the blond prankster.

"Everything you learn here today Sasuke, and everything you will learn in the future about these weapons is considered a military secret, S-class. You have been chosen as part of the first team to use these weapons, partly due to your sharingan but also because the team needs more close and mid range combat potential. While Naruto and Hinata have both worked hard to not overspecialize, this side project of theirs has left them slightly behind the curve. This" The Hokage gestured to the silver haired Jounin. "is Kakashi Hatake, he will be your sensei. It is my hope and intention that while Naruto and Hinata instruct you in your new weapons you and Kakashi will help to improve their close and mid range combat skills."

Sasuke took a moment to consider the implications.

"Just how good is this weapon?"

"Good enough to kill the Hokage's shadow clone from 800 meters out." Naruto chimed in with a massive grin. "Or five hundred meters and a faster rate of fire. Either way you get good enough and you take your target by surprise, they'll be in the afterlife without even knowing what happened to them." Sasuke let that explanation wash over him and digested the implications.

"I could kill Itachi." His voice came out a whisper that neither of his fellow graduates caught.

The need to kill his brother, to get justice for his clan, might not consume his every waking moment like it used to, but it was still there in the back of his mind. It was something he had to do if he ever wanted to feel safe having a family, if he ever wanted to feel safe at all. He had always thought he would spend years, decades even, growing stronger before he could hope to kill Itachi. However if Naruto and the Hokage where on the level…

"How long… how long would it take to get good using whatever these weapons are?"

Naruto and Hinata shared a glance as they considered the question.

"I don't know. Hinata and I had to figure this entire thing out on our own. I mean, by the time Hinata joined in I had figured out most of it but still, we've never tried to teach anyone before… maybe a few months?" And there it was a solution, a shortcut which would finally allow Sasuke Uchiha to lay his demons to rest.

"I'm in. When do we start?" Naruto's grin nearly split his face.

"Give me three weeks, and I'll need a pint of blood from you and Kakashi sensei for the sealing ink so that only you can fire them. After all, can't afford to let some random enemy nab one and abuse all my hard work."

"Our hard work Naruto." Mr. Higurashi said with a chuckle as he walked into the room.

"I'm sorry Hokage sama, but I have to ask... isn't there supposed to be some kind of second test we need to pass?" Hinata asked nervously.

"Ah, I can answer that." Kakashi spoke up, grabbing the attention of the three teens for the first time. They were rather underwhelmed by the sight of the one eyed man reading porn. "It was a practice instituted in war time when we were rushing kids through the academy and graduating them at the age of twelve, sometimes younger. It started as a way to make sure that the genin were at least good enough to stand a chance of surviving. When we pushed back graduation to sixteen where it was always meant to be the practice was discontinued. Mostly because we can't afford to spend eight years training you brats and then just send you back to repeat training you've already completed." The Hokage nodded his confirmation.

"Not to mention that given Naruto's victory in our bet I doubt I could find a way to justify sending him or his team back. Please let's all sit and eat. Naruto-kun, Higurashi-san and Hinata-chan. Please walk us through everything from the beginning." Hiruzen suggested.

Nodding the group sat down and Mr. Higurashi began the summary of eight years of experimentation and progress.

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	9. Chapter 9

AN: Hey, I'm still remembering to say this before every post! I thought for sure I would have forgotten by now! I don't own Naruto!

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Sasuke sat in silence poking the last bit of barbecue pork around the inside of his take out container.

"So let me get this straight." The raven haired boy began. "You make a powerful new weapon and show it to the council, they tell you it's not suited for ninja work, and an eight year old tells you he thinks you just need to refine the idea… So you make him your partner, and the two of you then spend eight years making different and better types of guns." Higurashi nods with a self satisfied grin.

"Then you," Sasuke shifts his gaze to Naruto. "decide to really make the most of these, rifles, you need to study stealth and assassination. So you redouble your pranking to get more practice and as a side benefit you got damn good at trapping?" Naruto grins cheekily. "Then after your lipstick mission you decide to revolutionize assassination, so no kid ever has to go on one of those missions again." Now completely serious the blond gives another nod. Sasuke leans back and lets out a tired breath.

"Finally Hinata, comes along to check up on you and in a moment of inspiration Naruto comes up with a solution to basically every issue he was having using a rifle for something other than assassinating a single target. Thanks to hanging out with Naruto you decide you are going to change the way the Hyuuga clan is run in order to make it better, by basically throwing all their traditions out the window?" Hinata's response is a small giggle and a resolute nod.

"And the only reason any of this is happening is because Naruto managed to catch the Hokage, and the majority of our military, by surprise with weapons and tactics they've never seen before… Fucking hell, what have I walked into?"

Kakashi gave a small chuckle.

"Well I did want us all to get to know each other, and I would have to say that Hinata and Naruto have done a good job of that. So let's see, my name is kakashi Hatake and I'll be your new sensei! I like some things, dislike other things. I have a few hobbies, and my dreams aren't the kind of thing to discuss in polite company!" The eccentric jounin said flashing the group a thumbs up and an eye smile.

Naruto and Higurashi found the introduction amusing, while the room's other occupants displayed varying levels of disbelief.

"Now Sasuke, your turn." Kakashi said.

Sasuke took a minute to push the remains of his lunch around a bit more.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha, I like Tomatoes, I hate fangirls, my only real hobby is training... My dream, I think I'll have to explain. My brother went crazy, killed my clan, and fled the village. But I suppose you all knew that, it's pretty common knowledge."

The group nodded quietly in the now somber atmosphere of the shop.

"For some reason that lunatic left me alive, don't know why, probably never will. I want to kill him, and start a family, rebuild my clan. I used to only want to kill him to get revenge for my clan, but then…" Sasuke hesitated not sure how to explain what had changed without feeling weak in front of his new team. He didn't have to.

"Psych nin." Naruto said his face and tone deadly serious. "There's no shame in having to see one, in needing their help. Took me months of help to get over my lipstick mission, and you went through a lot worse than that." The blond stated levelly. Hinata gave Sasuke a comforting smile.

"We all have to see them. They were, very helpful, after the execution exam." Hinata said as she stared into the bottom of her mostly empty cup of tea as dark memories flitted through her mind. Briefly relief and gratitude played across the Uchiha's face before he schooled his features back into their normal apathetic mask.

"I still want to kill him, but now it's not just about revenge. I just, I need that bastard in the ground, where I won't have to worry about him anymore. I can't spend my whole life worrying about when he'll show up again to finish what he started, or worse take away any new loved ones." Sasuke made a point of not looking up from his food. His new teammates both shot him looks of understanding while the adults stayed somber. Sasuke shot Naruto a look that the blond could not explain.

"Thing is Itachi was a damn genius. After awhile, I had to admit the only way I could ever catch up to him is if old age caught up with him first." The boy shook his head. "Now you two come along, out of nowhere, and tell me all I need is a few months, the element of surprise, and I can finally, finally, put that bastard down." Sasuke chuckled darkly.

"You help me end him, and I'll make the new Uchiha clan an ally of the Hyuuga instead of a rival, I'll adopt Naruto into my clan, hell I'll name my kids after you! You help me do this..."

Sasuke trailed off no longer able to put words to his thoughts. This wasn't like him, to put himself out on a limb like this. He wasn't above asking for help, but this was almost begging. It stung at his pride, but this was the solution, this was the way to defeat his brother, and he would need their help to do it. The room fell silent.

"Will you help me?" Sasuke asked his eyes looking like nothing so much as obsidian as his head swiveled to take in all of the room's occupants, though his attention stayed focused on no one so much as Naruto and Hinata.

The couple exchanged a quick glance and a short nod before Naruto turned back to stare Sasuke straight in the eye.

"We'll help you bring the bastard down. You're our teammate now. It's our job to support you." Naruto stated solemnly before giving Sasuke a vicious grin. "Besides, this team is going to be one for the history books. I think killing the villages second biggest traitor would be a great chapter in our legend, neh?" Sasuke gave the blond a grateful look before matching the blonde's vicious smirk with one of his own.

The Hokage cleared his throat drawing the attention of the three teens.

"Yes, well, I'm glad you three are taking this so seriously, but I hope you realize you all have a great deal ahead of you before you are ready for such a dangerous mission. Not to mention we have no idea where Itachi is at this point or what he has been doing." The aged leader gave them all a small smile. "However, I do believe that given time you may indeed be the ones to finally bring the traitor to justice."

"Now there are other things I'm needed for today so I believe it is time we got down to matters of more immediate importance, namely the area of focus for your team." This immediately grabbed the attention of everyone, with the exception of Kakashi who simply turned the page of his book.

"Your skills are greatly varied. Naruto is a clear cut stealth and assassination specialist, Hinata's skills make her a tracker and support fighter, and Sasuke is a heavy combat nin. Kakashi has served all of these roles at one time or another." The three teens glanced away from their leader to give their new sensei impressed and contemplative looks.

"This was done intentionally as the shinobi council and I believe that working together you will make a splendid assassination/assault team. What that means is you will specialize in silent operations and hit and run tactics. You will destroy your targets without being discovered and then either work further into hostile territory or slip away to repeat the process somewhere else. However, missions requiring that particular skill set are, for the moment, far above your pay grades, and outside of wartime few and far between."

Hiruzen paused in his speech to shoot a glare at Naruto whose excited look wilted into one of disappointment.

"For now you will handle more generalized missions, and you will train. Teach each other your skills, and improve your existing skills. When each of you can fulfill every other person's role passably, and Kakashi deems you ready, we will see about getting you started on more specialized missions."

"Now Naruto, Hinata, why don't you introduce Kakashi and Sasuke to the guns they will soon be working with? I need to see about locking your schematics and research notes in the Hokage vault. Your security here is decent, but I'm afraid this is too dangerous not to be under the highest security."

The group nodded and bid the Hokage farewell as they filed into the underground shooting range.

The range was short, only twenty meters in length. It had been excavated with only an amateur level of skill by the blond genin years before. The result was a mess of different types of wood supports, cheap unpainted plywood walls, and simple paper targets hung from a string pulley system. At the end of the range opposite the target was a cheap table with five guns laid across it.

Before beginning Naruto handed out ear protection.

"OK! This right here is my baby!" Naruto said with infinite cheer as he hefted his sniper rifle (M40a3). "She's accurate up to 800 meters and the bullet speed is 777 meters per second! That is more than double the speed of sound. Basically you pull the trigger then a little over a second later, so long as you hit something they can't live without, they're dead before they even know what happened. It's got a collapsible tripod to stabilize it for long distance shots. The ammo clips each hold ten rounds. The scope has variable zoom, three six and nine times normal magnification. There is also an optional flash and smoke suppressor to make it less visible. I can put a suppressor on it that cuts down on the noise made firing it but that doesn't really do anything to stop the sonic boom the bullet makes."

Naruto kissed the stock of his rifle before raising it to his shoulder. Naruto slipped into a more stable squatting firing stance, then took a moment to breath before squeezing the trigger. The bang and the small flash from the unsuppressed muzzle announcing the new hole in the forehead of the target.

"She's got enough punch to go clean through two targets, maybe three; well at least I think so. I'm not sure how good shadow clones are for that kind of testing." The blonde said with a shrug.

"Now this one is almost entirely Higurashi-ojisan's." Naruto pulled up a revolver (colt single action navy aka colt peacemaker) "Ojisan calls it the peacemaker, it has a different way of loading extra bullets, which takes longer to load, but the trade of is it packs a really mean punch. Honestly though I plan to trade up for something better once I manage to work out all the kinks in the next stage of prototypes."

As Naruto spoke he twirled the peacemaker in and out of a holster strapped to his side before finally drawing it in a blur of motion and firing. The round hit the target in the neck slightly to the left side.

"These smaller guns, handguns, pistols, the bullets they fire don't break the sound barrier so theoretically I could silence on. Problem is I haven't managed to make a silencer small enough to not throw off the balance yet. So for now they're really only a weapon of last resort or for if your cover's blown. Hinata, you're up!"

With a small nod and a playful roll of her eyes Hinata stepped up to the table where she picked up her rifle. (M1-garand)

"This is my rifle; it's accurate up to 500 meters, holds ten shots and can be fired much more quickly than Naruto's sniper rifle. Because it doesn't have a scope like Naruto's it has a shorter range but this also allows me switch between targets faster which means I can use it even if I'm being charged at mid to close range. A knife can be attached to the front to make something of a very short spear, but with my juken if it comes down to close quarters I'm better off fighting barehanded."

Hinata took a firing stance and emptied the clip into the paper targets chest, making a tight grouping in the area of the heart. Slipping the clip out of her rifle she picked up her own pistol. (Mauser C96, no but stock)

"This is my mauser pistol."

Sasuke and Kakashi blinked in confusion.

"How did you come up with a name like that?" Sasuke asked. With a sigh Hinata massaged the bridge of her nose.

"Naruto-kun came up with the name the same way he came up with the name for his camouflage suits; he pulled pieces out of a scrabble bag until he got something he thought sounded 'cool'."

In response to the looks he was getting from Kakashi and Sasuke, Naruto simply shrugged and grinned.

"Moving on, the mauser has a ten round clip good stopping power and despite its small size is accurate well past one 100 meters."

Sasuke and Kakashi almost gave themselves whiplash looking between Hinata and the small pistol not quite comprehending what she was saying. With a small giggle Hinata turned and emptied the gun into the targets right side. Shaking his head Kakashi pointed to the one remaining gun on the table.

"Alright, now what is that one?" Naruto rubbed at the back of his head a small frown marring his face.

"Ahh that one is Ojisan's pet project. Calls it a shotgun… cover your ears this one's louder than the pistols." Hefting the small double barrel, pistol grip, sawed off shotgun, Naruto pointed it downrange and emptied a single shell into the upper torso peppering it with numerous small holes.

"It's not really accurate enough for my taste. If you fire it at an enemy who's fighting up close with an ally then you stand a good chance of hitting your teammate too. Though honestly I wouldn't want to risk shooting into a taijutsu fight with any gun. Nothing kills accuracy like adrenaline and with that much movement going on…" The blond just shook his head.

"So that's the best Ojisan and I can build right now. Hokage-jiji's got the village footing the bill for one sniper rifle, one rifle like Hinata's and two smaller guns so you both can take your pick.

While Sasuke was contemplating the pro's and con's Kakashi had already made up his mind.

"I'll take the sniper rifle, and I'd actually appreciate if you could make me one of those shotguns."

Naruto raised a skeptical eyebrow before shrugging it off and agreeing.

"You said you were working on the prototype for the next generation of pistols right?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah, should be done with the testing and fine tuning in a few months depending on how busy we all are with missions and training. Why?"

"I think I'll hold off on making decision to see what you come up with before I make up my mind. Besides I want to focus on learning one weapon at a time."

"Alright then, I'm still going to need that pint of blood from the two of you for the sealing ink so only you will be able to use them. Between Ojisan and some shadow clones… they should be done in about two weeks."

"Good." Kakashi said. "You all have the rest of the day off. Meet me at training ground seven tomorrow at eight and we'll begin working on all of your weaknesses as well as take on our first mission."

With that the group all went their separate ways. Hinata to report to her father about team assignments, Naruto to start work on his team's guns and Sasuke and Kakashi…. well they went home to relax, and try to come to grips with the fact they were about to be part of a team that would revolutionize combat on the elemental nations.

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Read and Review


	10. Chapter 10

AN: 300 follows…. I have a story with 300 follows and 190 favs….. holy crap. oh, I don't own Naruto.

I cut Zetsu (thank you who ever reminded me about him) because I don't want anything to do with bunny goddess power wank or whatever that was at the end of Naruto. Because no. Just, no.

Reader responses

 **iyaoyas:** thanks for you your service and for your review. The tips on grenade launchers are very much appreciated. The M14 can be accurate at that range without a scope?! Holy shit, I passed it by based on the wikipedia stats, thanks for the tip! You are correct the next handgun will be be the M1911. I would have already introduced it but, well, quick draw scene. I have to do at least one.

 **Botsboy408:** I've got at least one idea for an original weapon. Don't worry they won't be literally gunning down all the competition, though I may do one or two fights like that…

 **paladin303:** I believe there is a misunderstanding. NONE of the weapons being used run on a gas recoil system. I'm calling Hinata's rifle a M1 because the M1 has the statistics and look that I want.

 **Publicola:** I love that idea

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The newly formed team seven waited in the shade of the forest, each working at their own task. Naruto had disassembled his sniper rifle (M40a3) and was cleaning and oiling the components. Hinata was practicing a Juken kata and Sasuke was trying to soak up as much knowledge as he could from Naruto about the new type of weapon he would soon be learning to use.

This was the scene which Kakashi took in as he appeared in the middle of the clearing amidst swirling leaves.

"Yo, sensei! We were expecting you an hour ago, something keep you?" Naruto called out as he began to reassemble his sniper rifle.

"Mmm, a bird decided to nest in my hair, so I had to find him a new home before I could get here."

The three teens gave their sensei measured looks as they tried to determine if he was insane or simply messing with them. After a moment of awkward silence Kakashi coughed into his fist and resumed speaking.

"I tend to be about an hour late for most things, sometimes more, sometimes less. It's one of my…" Kakashi trailed off lazily spinning his right hand as he searched for the appropriate word.

"Nurosies?" Naruto offered with a grin.

"Sychosis?" Sasuke opined keeping his face admirably blank.

"Peculiarities?" Hinata suggested demurely.

"Let's go with that last one." Kakashi said brightly as he snapped his fingers. "You all will find that a lot of the stronger ninja, or even just the ones who have served the village for a long time tend to pick up, quirks. Some of these quirks are clan specific. It's an ingrained mentality which gives the individual something concrete and absolute to fall back on in times of mental stress. For example the Aburame's logical thinking or the Inuzuka pack mentality."

"The Hyuga stick of propriety shoved up the ass." Naruto muttered darkly. Kakashi ignored the interruption.

"These absolutes give them something to latch onto and emulate, even as their self image takes a beating from the horrors they will experience, and commit. Of course it's not perfect, but it can help, those are more exception than the rule though. Most ninja don't have that though we do all share in a sense of comradery which is also helpful. Regardless the pressure can affect us in strange ways over time. One of mine is showing up late. I don't expect any of you to understand it, just accept it. You should also spend that hour productively. Morning warm ups, practicing one of your skills, or studying a new skill are all acceptable."

The teens nodded. They had heard most of this before at one time or another from the psysch nins or the academy lectures on psychological stress. If they had to spend the first hour or so of their day working without their sensei, well there were worse things in life.

"Now then!" Kakashi clapped his hands together as he gave the teens his trademark eye smile. "This will be our schedule for the time being. Every morning we will work together in pairs helping each other to develop some of our own skills. For example today I will work with Hinata and work on her Hand to hand. While Naruto will help Sasuke with his stealth. Tomorrow Hinata will go over the tactics she and Naruto have worked on in the past with me so that I can better understand them and help look for flows while Sasuke will help Naruto get a better feel for jutsu combat. The next day we will switch partners and so on."

The three students nodded. It was a simple subtle reinforcement of the concept the Hokage had laid down the day before; the simple act of treating all three as equals in terms of what they brought to the team quelling any unfriendly rivalries before they were even given chance to take root. Assuring that each would give their all to bring the others up to a reasonable level of skill in the domains they were most comfortable with.

Well at least until Sasuke realized he had absolutely nothing to teach Kakashi, unless there were secrets about the sharingan he hadn't worked out on his own hidden away in the Uchiha clan compound. Which was possible, but not something Kakashi counted on. Realistically the copy nin was banking on the fact that Sasuke could take the other two apart in close or mid range combat to keep his pride from feeling too wounded.

And realistically Naruto and Hinata would only be teaching him how to handle a new type of weapon. Tactics were going to be something the whole team had to experiment with. What worked for one or two might not work for four, or it might work better. Regardless that would be more mutual than anything so within a few months Kakashi fully expected to be lording the fact that he was the only one with anything useful left to teach over all three.

With a self-satisfied giggle Kakashi directed the groups apart and got down to work on refining Hinata's hand to hand combat, switching from one style to another every so often to force her to adapt and keeping her on her toes.

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"Right first thing about stealth is the terrain matters. I use a different type of camouflage for the forest the mountain and the town. If I walked around town looking like a bush I'd stand out. Let's start with the forest." Naruto said and pulled out a storage scroll.

With a small burst of smoke two green grassy ghillie suits appeared between the two boys.

"This is one of my best creations. They have seals to eliminate scent, and to hide your chakra. We're going to play hide and seek with around the clearing." Naruto was grinning goofily as he started to slip into the ghillie suit. Sasuke on the other hand seemed to choke on nothing.

"You have to be kidding! Hide and seek?! We're supposed to be training, not playing kids games!"

Naruto for his part looked flummoxed before he sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Alright tell you what." Naruto began in an overly reasonable tone, like one trying to explain something to a small child. "I'm going to go hide in that field." Naruto hiked a thumb over his shoulder to a field of tall grass "I'm going to go hide in there and you come try to find me. I'll show you exactly what I mean by hide and seek."

Sasuke looks the blond over skeptically before shrugging. With a chakra aided leap Naruto launches himself into the field, and vanishes.

Sasuke gives the blond a thirty second head started before launching into the trees for a bird's eye view, and finds no trace of his blond partner. Now with slightly more caution and appreciation for Naruto's tactics Sasuke begins to wade into the waist high grass. His ears and eyes peeled for any possible clues but he hears and sees nothing.

Sasuke quickly begins to grow frustrated but keeps his temper in check. For close to twenty minutes the raven haired teen searches fruitlessly before in an instant his feet are pulled out from under him and he feels a cold touch of steel at the back of his neck. Adrenaline runs through his veins, instinct screams to fight and years of training urge him to move! Then the moment passes as Naruto removes the training blade from his neck and stands.

"See, this is why stealth is important. You can take me apart in a straight fight, but a bit of stealth and a few moves for quick takedowns and I don't even have to fight. Since our job is going to call for a lot of sneaking both skills are really important. So we're going to practice by playing hide and seek." Naruto finished his impromptu lesson with a grin.

Slowly gaining control over his heartbeat Sasuke nodded his understanding. With new found appreciation for stealth Sasuke took the offered hand and hauled himself to his feet ready to try being on the other side of the knife.

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After a modest lunch the group of genin found themselves in the mission assignment room from which Kakashi collected three courier bags and a mission scroll before ushering them outside.

"Alright," Kakashi began with his standard good cheer. "For the next three weeks we are on low priority courier duty!"

"What?" Naruto asked, summing up his teammates thoughts nicely. "I mean I get that it needs to be done, but isn't this something a civilian could be paid to take care of?"

"Ah, good question. Most of these documents aren't important but with enough of them a spy could collect a great deal of information on some of the village's day to day business which can be dangerous. So while a civilian could do it, it remains a mission for security reasons as well as for training purposes."

At the mention of training the teens exchange skeptical looks.

"No, really. All of the messages go to important parts of the village. In the event of an attack you may be ordered to report to a certain location. I know you have all memorized the village layout, but in combat with adrenaline and fear messing with your head you don't want to have to stop and orient yourself to figure out where you need to go. So for the next three weeks I'll be calling out a location off the list while we deliver the messages it might be close or it might be far away and we will move at a good speed to whatever destination I choose. By the time we pass the mission on to the next team of genin I expect all of you to be constantly aware of the position of these locations relative to yourself without thinking."

With understanding dawning in their eyes and protest dying on their lips the trio got ready to move.

"Alright first delivery, let's see… Ah, how about the armory!"

Without complaint the team jumped to the roofs and made tracks for their destination. Kakashi allowed a small smile to tug at the corner of his lips as he watched his students launch themselves into their task with all the energy of you-. And Kakashi quickly cut that thought off while making a mental note to spend less time hanging around with Guy.

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"The trick to fighting with jutsu is to either make the signs and channel chakra on the move, or complete the signs fast enough that standing still doesn't leave an opening." Sasuke explained to his blond training partner. "The best way to look at it is high risk high reward. The right move can shape the battlefield or kill an opponent with overwhelming force, but speed, timing, and accuracy are critical. It's not as big a risk against non ninja, but against a trained ninja you have to judge exactly how fast they can close the distance versus how fast you can complete your hand seals. Most often if an enemy sees you going through seals they will start to counter or evade, but not always. If they think they are fast enough they might launch an attack to break your concentration or kill you." Sasuke lectured his blond teammate.

"Alright, so basically I have to be able to blow through hand signs faster than an enemy can get to me?"

"Right but it's not just your opponent charging you that you need to watch out for. You also need to worry about thrown weapons. So this is what we'll do; I'm going to stand however far away I feel like off to your side. When you start going through signs I'll either charge you or throw a training weapon at you. If I throw something you move and keep going through seals. If I charge you stand your ground. If you don't manage to fire off your jutsu before I reach you… I'll whack you with this stick." Sasuke finished holding up a short oak stick with a small malicious grin.

"What?!" Naruto squawked. "Why the hell do you get to hit me with a stick?!"

"Motivation." Sasuke responded still sporting a vicious grin. "Now let's get started."

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"Alright Hinata, what are covering?" Sasuke asked.

"Hmm well, how much of the combat medic class do you remember?" Sasuke held out a hand parallel to the ground before wiggling it.

"I remember the stuff about pressure bandages and the basics but I'm a bit iffy on the specifics for chest and belly wounds."

"Alright we'll go over those for now then if we have time I'll go over the indicators that someone's been poisoned.

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"OK, so, sensei… you remember those equations from the academy about projectile trajectories that no ninja is ever going to use in the field?"

"Of course, Naruto."

"Yeah we'll you're going to need to learn to do those in your head on the fly and they're going to be more complicated and precise than the ones the academy uses; rough estimates won't cut it." Kakashi's only visible eyebrow quirked up slightly before he nodded and allowed Naruto to launch into a lecture on ballistic calculations.

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"Alright, Sasuke, sensei, remember to take you time and stay calm, rapid heartbeats will only throw your aim off."

Nodding the pair took their first shots with their new weapons, aiming for targets only 100 meters down range. Both of their shots went wide. And so the lectures pointers and practice began.

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"Kakashi-sensei, what is our new mission?"

"Well Hinata, we are all going to be on guard duty patrolling the top of the village wall. For the first week we'll do this as a group. For the two following weeks we will work in pairs."

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The crack of rifle fire was steady and calming in its repetition as Naruto looked down range using a small telescope to track Kakashi's shots.

"Pretty tight grouping sensei. I think we need to start switching between targets, get you used to adjusting range quickly."

"Hmm I suppose so. I have to say this is starting to feel easier."

"That's good. Once we start working on moving targets we'll be ready to use them for real."

"Shadow clone simulations?"

"Yeah it's a pain at first but not too hard to get the hang of, especially with a spotter backing you up."

"Mmm"

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"Alright gang, this mission is going to less tedious, but more difficult, well annoying at any rate." Kakashi said with his normal laid back tone.

"Why's that sensei?" Hinata asked, while swatting her boyfriends hand from her shoulder.

"Well… we're on cat catching duty… for a week…"

"...Run that by me again sensei. All those years of listening to fan girls scream in class must have left permanent damage. I could swear I just heard you say we're spending the next week catching cats."

"Funny, Naruto. The Daimyo's wife summers in the village. Her pet cat Tora is part nin-cat and part bobcat… it tends to escape. A lot, and between the nin-cat instincts and the bobcat genes making it bigger and faster…"

"This has to be a joke." Sasuke deadpanned.

"It's not." Hinata sighed rubbing the side of her head. "My cousin came home ranting about demon cats last year not long after he graduated."

"For real? Damn."

"Don't worry I'm sure you three will figure something out."

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Sasuke was doing his best not to laugh. Honestly he was. He wasn't really succeeding but he was trying.

"How has that thing not mauled the Daimyo's wife yet?!" Naruto shouted as Hinta fretted about applying disinfectant and bandages to his face and arms. "Ow! Dang it that stings!"

"Stop fidgeting, it's only disinfectant. I have to get these cuts clean." Hinata scolded her boyfriend with a stern glare.

"Fine, whatever, can I please shoot the fur ball? Did the mission specify that we had to bring it back _alive_?"

At Naruto's question the other two froze before looking to Kakashi who tossed Sasuke the scroll without looking up from his book. The raven haired teen quickly scanned through their mission before giving a depressed sigh.

"Failure to return the cat Tora alive and relatively unharmed will constitute failure of the mission. Sorry Naruto, looks like we can't just kill the cat." The boy read.

"Naruto, have you had any luck with the"

"No, Hinata. I still have not had any luck with the kami forsaken non-lethal bullets." Naruto grumbled before breaking off into a muttered rant about impact force and something about paralysis seals.

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For the final time team seven dragged their vicious feline target into the mission's office. This time they had managed to completely wrap their target in ninja wire preventing it from moving.

"Little much don't you think?" Asked the bemused chunin manning the desk. The trio of angry glares from the bandaged genin was his only answer.

Collecting their mission pay the team made their way outside.

"...Say, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yes, Naruto?"

"Are there any jounin with a genin team that happen to have a grudge against?" Everyone stopped to give the blond bemused looks.

"I can think of one or two I might want to get one over on. Why?"

"Oh I was just thinking, obviously we wouldn't want a black mark on our records from something as stupid as being unable to catch a cat alive… but if say we were to have a hunting trip, to practice marksmanship you understand, and if a certain cat was unlucky enough to be mistaken for say a bobcat, or a raccoon and killed... Well it's certainly wouldn't be our fault we made an honest mistake, now would it?" Naruto explained his tone smoother than silk.

"Naruto…" Hinata said, her tone dripping with disapproval. She might not like the cat but their ordeal was over and done with now that the mission had passed onto the next poor team.

Sasuke on the other hand was sporting a small vicious grin as he contemplated putting down the creature which ruined a pair of his pants only just missing his gonads. Kakashi was giving Naruto a contemplative look having actualy put away his book for this conversation. Finally Kakashi started to chuckle lightly. Those chuckles grew slowly into a full blown laughter which quickly died back down into light giggles.

"Oh? You're getting eager now are you, Naruto? Ready to put your skills use eliminating targets?"

Now for a moment Naruto paused as the full implications of that question washed over him. Memories of a bloody knife and a bloodier body resting on a plush bed flashed through his mind, but he shook those thoughts away. He knew it would come again in time, now or later it made little difference. This was his suggestion to begin with regardless. If he shied away from killing a cat he may as well turn in his headband now and save time. So with a cocky grin Naruto throws the ball back into Kakashi's court.

"Targets, sensei? I don't know what you're talking about. I was just suggesting a simple hunting trip to practice hitting live targets. Though I suppose if you wanted to targets a certain animal to simulate a real world mission..." Naruto trailed off grinning like a loon.

Hinata huffed in exasperation while Sasuke and Kakashi rewarded the blonde's antics with small chuckles.

"Well then I suppose a hunting trip could be a good exercise. Why don't you give me some time to pick out an ideal date and I'll get back to you all on that. Setting that aside for the moment, our next mission is to do inventory of the shuriken in the armory. It's a mind numbingly boring task but we have to do it every so often. Go get some sleep, can't have you lot losing count because you're tired after all."

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"Naruto, I am not OK with this!" Hinata hissed into her radio.

"Hinata, what did you think you would be doing with that rifle, eh? It's only good for one thing and you know it." Naruto answered back feeling rather tired of this debate.

"This isn't for the village though! It's not a mission; we aren't getting paid to do this, Naruto!"

"She does have a point." Sasuke chimed in. "You think if we get the cat stuffed after this? We could sell it to one of the other genin teams it mauled."

"That is not what I meant and you know it, Sasuke!" Hinata fumed.

"Look, Hinata, I get what you're saying." Sasuke answered. "And if we were going after a person I would agree with you. But we aren't killing a person, just the demon spawn masquerading as a cat. It nearly took my balls off!"

"So you're going to kill a cat that we don't even need to deal with anymore because it nearly hurt you? Sasuke, are you sixteen or seven? We're ninja, you should be more mature than this."

"Come on Hinata-hime." Naruto said letting his pet name for the girl slip in an attempt to calm her down. "The cat mauled all three of us, and it ripped your favorite jacket. Think of it this way we're giving Sensei's rival's team a black mark on their records, and it's Neji's squad! I know you want to take that prick down a notch, and let's not forget all the other genin we'll be saving from the nightmare of dealing with that cat!" Naruto argued.

For a time the line fell silent.

"Fine, whatever. We kill the cat. But you owe me, Naruto!"

While he thanked her Naruto was busy internally wincing at the prospect of how many cinnamon buns he would have to buy, and how many back messages he would have to give.

"You know," Kakashi's lazy drawl filtered through his earpiece. "If I didn't know any better I would say you too are a bit more familiar than just friends and teammates, Naruto, Hinata…"

"For fucks sake…. Damnit…." Naruto said letting his eye drop from his scope to bang his head against the ground. Sasuke whistled over his mike.

"No, kidding? How'd you manage that one mister sharp shooter?" Sasuke teased.

"Discretely, that's how. How long have you known sensei? I thought we were doing a good job of hiding it?" Hinata asked with just a touch of venom.

"Oh I've suspected for awhile now." Kakashi admitted with a chuckle. "You did do a decent job of hiding it, but I caught both your eyes wandering from time to time. That and a few conversations tipped me off."

"Alright, I'll bite." Naruto grumped. "If you've known for awhile why bring it up now?"

"Oh that's easy. I was getting bored and thought your reactions might be amusing!"

Kakashi couldn't help but chuckle as the radio was consumed with Sasuke's chuckles and Naruto's cursing. Teasing his students really was a great pastime Kakashi mused, almost as good as Icha Icha. Shame even he couldn't read and scan for his target at the same time, speaking of which.

"I see the target." Instantly the line went silent. "500 meters out, only a slight cross breeze, it's moving slow. Easy shot."

"Take your time sensei you've got this." Naruto murmured across the radio.

Ignoring the well meant but unnecessary commentary from his student Kakashi took a moment to run through the calculations in his head. At this range he would barely have to lead the target. Taking calm even breaths Kakashi gently squeezed the trigger. The result was rather more spectacular than he had expected.

The bullet took the oblivious feline in the head. Blood bone and brain matter exploded across the green grass of the field in a small but spectacular triangle of gore.

"Target eliminated everyone. Let's meet up Ichiraku's, given how much they love Naruto I'm sure they would be more than willing to be our alibi for when Guy's team finds the cat."

Chuckling to himself Kakashi sealed away his sniper rifle before moving off into the trees. If nothing else being a sensei was proving to be amusing.

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Read and Review


	11. Chapter 11

AN: Don't own Naruto.

Reader Responses:

Just a general response to the people who commented on Tora being killed; I can honestly say I wasn't expecting so many of you to get a kick out of that but I'm glad you all enjoyed it. It's always satisfy to break the mold and soak up the reactions.

 **Hothead615:** There are no grenades, machine guns, or SMG's, _yet_. They'll get there sooner than you might think. Wave is going to be a bit of an eye opener for the team and Naruto in particular about how the guns could be improved, and diversified to work better in different situations.

 **Azrael Akuma:** Hadn't planned on Kakashi dual wielding pistols though it is a badass image, maybe. Yes the Sharingan is pretty much that video game effect where everything slows down. Epic right?

 **iyaoyas:** The info about the M14: that makes a bit more sense, I did know some of that about the benefits of wounding vs. killing enemies but it's good to be reminded. I haven't found anything about vietnam snipers using suppressors either, not that I've done much research, not really sure where to look honestly. Oh and thanks for the info on back up weapons.

* * *

From under his hat the Hokage glared at team seven, the three males feigned ignorance admirably but most impressive of all was Hinata who had fallen back on her clan's lessons on hiding emotions and stood at parade rest with her face an admirably blank mask.

"Would any of you care to speculate on how it is the Taro the cat was killed." The Hokage asked seriously. "Madam Shijimi was rather distraught."

"The cat kicked the bucket?" Naruto asked with a grin, causing his leaders eyebrow to twitch.

"Yes, rather gruesomely I might add."

"What a tragedy." Sasuke deadpanned.

"Yes… well. Team Guy has already offered to help comfort Madam Shijimi by collecting one of her, shall we say, more caustic felines to help her through this time of loss." The Hokage said with an evil glint in his eye causing the team before him to stiffen.

"What?" Naruto asked sounding panicked.

"Well Tora was always the most mild mannered of his littermates." The three genin were now beginning to panic while Kakashi actually appeared stunned by the aged leader's declaration. "Now, I'm told that Tora's siblings are equally prone to taking long walks away from their owner. That said once team Guy returns we will need a team on hand to handle retrieval… Ah team Kakashi, how nice of you all to volunteer!" The genin hung their heads in defeat and misery.

"Until then however, it appears as if you three are chomping at the bit to move on to more, substantial work." The hint of mirth in the Hokage's eye spoke of some kind of torturous experience in the near future. "It just so happens that we have recently received a request for a C-ranked escort mission to Wave."

Team Kakashi traded nervous glances waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"It's about a week long trip at a civilian pace." The genin traded quick glances. That was slow and boring to be sure but hardly unexpected for the type of mission. "And I'm afraid the client is a bit of a bad mouthed grouch, not a very happy person at all really." They winced. A week of playing nice to a rude client would be a test of anyone's patience. "Once you arrive in wave you will stay on protection duty while he completes his bridge which should take, oh about two weeks." Three weeks of playing nice to a grouchy client! The genin were now truly beginning to panic. "Oh and I suppose I should mention he is a rather heavy drinker." Hiruzen finished with a chuckle at the looks of misery on his young soldier's faces.

"But don't worry, Madam Shijimi will be in the village for another couple of months so there will be plenty of time for you all to become acquainted with whichever of her other cats' team Guy returns with." The Hokage reminded cheerfully. That did it, their spirits thoroughly crushed and their punishment firmly entrenched in their minds the genin made their way out of the Hokage's office with a reminder to meet at the gate in an hour.

{}{}{}{}

"None of this would have happened if you two had just let things go! But no, you had to go and turn that cat into an assassination mission, didn't you? You just had to go and test your skills!"

"Come on Hinata, you can't blame this all on me." Naruto whined. "Kakashi-sensei's the one who greenlighted it and took the shot." Naruto whined piteously.

"Don't you dare try to put this all on him; it was your idea in the first place!"

"I didn't exactly hear you object when I suggested killing it to bring it in!"

"That was when the cat was still our problem! You suggested the stupid 'training operation' after the cat was already someone else's problem!"

"But Hinata-hime"

"Don't you, 'Hinata-hime' me Naruto. As far as I'm concerned this mission is your fault and you can forget about me helping catch the new demon cat. As far as I'm concerned you boys brought this on yourselves, so you can just suck it up and deal with it on your own!"

"Wait what?!" Sasuke yelled slightly panicked.

"Oh _now_ you join the conversation." Naruto groused.

"Can it, idiot. Come on Hinata, we could barely track the first cat _with_ your help, how do you expect us to track the new cat without you?!"

"Not my problem. You boys wanted revenge on the cat, congratulations you got it. You can deal with the fallout on your own." Hinata huffed airily drawing on a lifetime of experience gained from living with her clan.

Naruto and Sasuke crumpled inwardly. They were not ready to give up on trying to convince and or bribe Hinata to help them with cat wrangling, but for the moment at least, they had no choice except to admit defeat. Tazuna who had been following the running debate since the group had left the village almost twenty minutes ago eyed the teens with extreme trepidation.

"Jounin-san, I hate to sound like a broken record, but these kids seem more like a comedy act than ninja's. The blonde with the weird hat and the girl get on like an old married couple, and the emo… well he seems like an emo… And you all seem a bit crazy what with the metal pipes strapped to you." Kakashi chuckled while his student's glared daggers at Tazuna who's only response was to gulp down more saki.

"Well Tazuna-san, I'll admit this team isn't really geared towards a guard missions." Tazuna tensed minutely which went unnoticed by exactly no one." But I can guarantee you all of us are more than capable of dealing with bandits or hired thugs." Tazuna chose to take another sip from his gourd rather than answer.

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"So, a puddle…" Naruto stated as he continued to meander down the road.

"Yup." Sasuke deadpanned back.

"Idiots." Hinata mumbled.

"I mean I know it's partly because this team has an ex ANBU, two doujutsu users, and a stealth expert, but they could have been a lot subtler than this."

" _A_ stealth expert, Naruto?" Kakashi asked raising his visible eyebrow.

"Sensei, I just said you were in ANBU. It's implied that you know stealth."

"Oh and us, Naruto?" Sasuke asked feigning aggravation.

"You two learned everything you know about stealth from me, and still need more practice." The blonde shot back.

"What are you all talking about?" Grumbled Tazuna. "What's the big deal about a puddle?"

"Oh, well you see we're walking towards an ambush right now." Naruto responded fiddling with his knife handle.

"W-what?" Tazuna's voice squeaked and his eyes shot wide open head whipping from side to side.

"Naruto, don't scare the client, he could give us away." Kakashi chastised. "Relax Tazuna-san, walking into an ambush when you know it's an ambush is very different from being caught in an Ambush. Just relax and let us do our jobs."

"RELAX?! Are you out of your mind?!" Tazuna shouted before turning and trying to sprint away. Kakashi caught the man by the back of his shirt and simply sighed.

"That, Naruto, is why you do not tell a client you are walking into an ambush unless you plan to avoid the ambush all together."

"Sorry, sensei."

Realizing they had been spotted a pair of mist shinobi seemed to rise out of the puddle. Not wasting time on words the duo dashed forwards, their motions in almost perfect mirror image, a bladed chain swinging between their bladed gauntlets. The genin split, Sasuke charging forward the single tomo of his sharingan spinning madly ready to meet with one of the nin even as Hinata and Naruto engaged the second together.

Sasuke slid low under a claw swipe aimed for his bowels as well as the chain trailing behind the attack. Just as quickly Sasuke rocketed up from behind driving a fist into the soft tissue of his opponents exposed armpit. Taking advantage of the wince and the opponents now off balance stance Sasuke followed up with a haymaker to the base of the neck. The man's muffled cry of pain was muted by his gas mask and cut off outright when Sasuke jammed a kunai through the falling man's temple.

Sasuke, running on adrenaline spun to check that his teammates were alright. A brace of shuriken already in hand and ready to throw.

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Naruto, without breaking stride, drew his combat knife (Ka-bar) from where it hung off his waist. Using both hands to reinforce the block he caught the enemy's bladed gauntlet, even still the force behind the strike pushed the blonde back several inches. Hinata flowed around her boyfriend with speed and grace intercepting the attacking nins other arm and jabbing at it repeatedly causing it to fall limp. With wide eyes the mist nin leapt back several feet. Just as his feet touched ground a trio of shuriken embedded themselves in the mist nins legs, one striking the back of the knee causing it to give out and the man to collapse. Hinata taking full advantage of the provided opening moved in and with a flurry of strikes to the mist nin's chest knocked him unconscious.

The three genin stood breathing only slightly labored guards up, and muscles tense, waiting for more enemies to appear, for another attack. All three spun on their heels to face back the way they came arms or weapons raised at the sharp crack of flesh on flesh. They trio visibly relaxed at the sight of the openly gaping Tazuna and the slowly clapping Kakashi.

"Well done you three. For your first live combat, that was very well executed."

The relaxed posture of their jounin sensei did wonders for the genin's nerves. Slowly the tension bled out of their muscles and their postures relaxed, Naruto and Sasuke put their weapons away. Sasuke took a moment to glance back at the opponent he had killed and visibly fought to keep his face calm.

Sasuke jumped slightly as Naruto clapped him on the shoulder. Glancing over and seeing the reassuring look from his two teammates helped the raven haired teen to relax, if only a bit. Kakashi stepped past the Gennin scooping up their opponents.

"Watch Tazuna. Keep your guards up just in case. I need to have a chat with our friend here and clean up." Nodding the group reformed around the client while Hinata took up scanning the surroundings at odd intervals with her byakugan. She would occasionally wince as she caught glimpses of Kakashi and the living assailant's 'chat'. Twenty minutes later Kakashi returned a smell not unlike that of burnt pork clinging to him.

"Well now, Tazuna-san, you have been far less than honest." Kakashi declared with a one eyed glare, causing the man to gulp. "You don't need protection from bandits. You have ninja and a small army of mercenaries after your head." Kakashi nearly blurred as he slammed Tazuna's back up against a tree holding the man by the neck.

"My genin are some of the leaf's best rookies, and I'm one of the best period." The irate jounin spat. "Had this been a less skilled group, a less wary one, the leaf could have lost one or more ninja! Give me one reason I shouldn't kill you and leave your body to rot!"

The genin's eyes went wide at this new side of their generally laid back instructor. In Kakashi's mind though this was the only appropriate response. Every ninja had to risk their lives for the village, it was inevitable. That being said letting clients get away with putting the villages ninja in danger they were not yet prepared for set a bad precedent, the kind that lead to unnecessary deaths. One of the chunin led teams of second rate graduates, the kind that were unlikely to ever progress past chunin, if they got that far, an ambush such as this could have mowed down a team of that skill level, particularly given the poison all the enemy weapons had been coated in.

It took almost no prompting for Tazuna to spill the entire story of his country and its plight. The story matched up to what information Kakashi had pried out of the demon brother.

And now came the real difficulty. The mission was a potential cash cow for the village. If they village took control of Gato's finances they could fill their coffers. But draining a corporation of that size could drastically affect the economy. Not to mention how it could negatively impact regular shipments of any number of products to a large number of coastal cities. Helping get wave back on its feet could lead to all kinds of beneficial arrangements; a forward outpost for the leaf, a school to scout potential shinobi, preferential trading and mission agreements, political favors. Truly the potential payout was insane but Kakashi was a warrior not a politician or accountant, and the potential repercussions from a major misstep made this a lousy time for amateur hour.

"We are going back to the village, all of us. The mission is being scrapped." The Genin shot Kakashi looks of surprise. "This changes everything. The Hokage is going to need to evaluate just how much Wave will owe Konoha before we go in. Tazuna, you don't need a protection mission you need an assassination. Assassinating someone like Gato, and eliminating a small army of bandits and mercs is going to be expensive. We need to determine exactly what your country can offer as payment, either now or over the coming years."

Kakashi let a small grin spread under his mask as looks of understanding spread across his genin's faces. The grin only grew as the boy's looks became eager, and Hinata's determined, to take on the proposed assassination mission themselves. They were ready. They might not get this one, but all four would fight for their right to take the new mission once the Hokage had settled the terms.

Wave would be freed, and Konoha would make out bandits.

* * *

Read and Review


	12. Chapter 12

AN: Don't own Naruto!

Reader responses!

 **livesinshadow19:** Landmines, I can definitely work those in somewhere. Though I think I'll need to make use of the bullshit that is sealing to make them safer to get rid of. Hinata would kill Naruto if he left primed explosives lying around where kids could step on them.

 **iyaoyas:** No problem, your reviews have been really helpful, and I'll keep the offer in mind if I've got questions. I hate chipmunks, furry little bastards turned my lawn into a golf course. So yeah… not great incentive to write any faster.

 **SETHRX7:** Hehe thanks for the amusing review, and I think I understand what you are asking better now. Probably something along the lines of telling the fox he really doesn't need its help with anything... and then I'll go from there. Maybe they will play nice maybe they'll mostly ignore each other, not sure yet.

 **MickDunD:** oooh helpful info about guns, thank you kindly. I do have plans for grenades and explosives, just been holding them in reserve for when they are needed. First use of Demo tags (my C4 stand in) might be showing up during the wave arc. Grenades I'm less certain about.

* * *

For the second time that week Hiruzen Sarutobi found himself glaring down the members of team seven who stood before him at parade rest. The team's expressions were all admirably blank.

"Would you please repeat that Kakashi? I'm not sure I heard you correctly."

"Lord Hokage, team Kakashi would like to request the mission to assassinate Gato of Gato shipping incorporated, along with any hired mercenaries that he currently has on retainer within Wave."

The Third's pipe smoldered between his lips, a lazy trail of smoke alternately curling from the end of his pipe and from between his lips. He gave the team before him a long calculating look keeping them suspended in silence for several minutes as he organized his thoughts and analysed the group before him.

"Kakashi, your team is currently supposed to be on unofficial punishment detail, and while I commend you for coming back to the village when the full scope of your mission was revealed, that does not change the fact that granting you such a mission seems more like a reward than a punishment."

"Perhaps, Hokage-sama. However, by your own admission missions such as this are rare during peacetime. This mission is ideal for training purposes. We are going to have to work around patrols, take out all hostiles, then press on to the next objective. Based on the intel we got out of Mizu there are only two shinobi currently in Gato's employ, furthermore their objective is the assassination of Tazuna, not Gato's protection. I like those odds a lot better than attempting to assassinate someone who is being protected by a team of Ninja. Sir, this is the as close to ideal as we are likely to get for a first serious mission for my team."

"Perhaps. Hinata, how would you go about eliminating a large group of bandits?"

Hinata paused for a moment. "Wave is tiny, easily the smallest independent nation that I am aware of. Holding the nation shouldn't take more than four or five hundred men. How the enemy are grouped most likely depends on the number and location of ports." Hinata paused again thinking through the situation. "I'd guess the majority are somewhere central to allow access to the entire country, Gato will be with that group for security. There will likely be smaller groups based at any ports to defend Gato's interests. The only realistic way to deal with those numbers is overwhelming force."

"Enough. Sasuke, your team mate has just declared that the only way to handle the situation is overwhelming force. How would you go about it?" The Hokage's gaze revealed nothing of his inner thoughts on Hinata's analysis. The raven haired teen he had just addressed took a moment to consider.

"There is no reasonable way to deal with those numbers silently. Our options are limited to large scale jutsu, combination jutsu, and gratuitous use of explosives. If the bandits are grouped in tents Kakashi-sensei and I could launch fire attacks while Naruto and a shadow clone launch a wind attack to enhance the flames. If we launch our attacks strategically it should be enough to kill the majority before they can organize to launch a counter offensive."

"Enough, Naruto, what would you do if the bandits are housed in one or more buildings instead of tents?"

"Buildings would be easier to sneak around. More space between them than a tent camp, and a lot less to trip up on. Unfortunately, they offer more solid protection against jutsu. We might be able to blow through a wall or two with a combination jutsu, but taking out multiple buildings quickly is unlikely. There would be survivors who would scatter making for lengthy cleanup, or even a fight. On the other hand, if we bring the buildings down on top of them we can kill or trap the majority. I'd assassinate the guards quietly, then slip through the compound planting demo tags around the outside of the buildings. Get out of the area, blow the tags, light the wreckage on fire to kill any survivors." Naruto grimaced slightly at the end of his proposed plan.

"Demo tags are not cheap. Where and how do you propose to get them and pay for them?"

"I make my own." Naruto replied truthfully.

"Enough, Sasuke, how would you deal with the other camps Hinata hypothesized exist near the ports?"

"It depends on if and how they keep in contact with Gato's main force. First thing to do would be to observe, then find out the check in schedule and then work around it. Most effective way to do it would be to quietly wipe out the smaller camps first to make sure Gato doesn't get reinforcements charging into things. Then when their out of the way assault Gato's main base before the next check in." The raven haired teen rattled off a loose plan.

"Hinata, the plans your team have laid out are solid." The two boys stood a bit straighter while fighting to keep their faces blank. "However you all have forgotten something." The boys cringed. "Kakashi."

The jounin in question sighed while rubbing at the side of his head. "A camp of bandits that size, especially one that has been established in a single area for any length of time is likely to have, _companions_."

"Let us not mince words, Kakashi. They will have woman. Some may be prostitutes trading sex for food, or even money. More likely they have been taken from their homes for the sole purpose of providing entertainment to the men."

All three genin stiffened. Naruto remembered the boys he had briefly met during his mission to assassinate the lady Suki. The tired, terrified looks of the younger ones and the world weary stares of the eldest.

Hinata could not help but imagine herself trapped, used and abused, it was a reality all kunoichi had to accept as a possibility, but acceptance did not negate the fear.

Sasuke was lost in thoughts of the massacre of his clan, how Itachi ripped through the countless innocents. Could he truly bring himself to do something similar? To kill the innocent? To kill victims?

"You three must understand, attempting to extract a large number of exhausted, battered and untrained woman would likely fail. If it failed, you would be swarmed. Naruto could flood the camps with Kage Bunshin to even the odds but in the chaos, it is still possible for one of you to be injured, or killed, by a stray arrow or unseen attack. Kakashi could unleash large scale jutsu to thin out the numbers but that risks Kakashi exhausting himself, which could leave you three defending him and the hostages. Chaotic fighting is your worst enemy. Furthermore, brute forcing an exit is not always going to be an option, and acting as if it is would eliminate the point of giving you this mission for training purposes."

The group gave subdued nods though each was still lost in their own thoughts.

"Kakashi, you are in charge of deciding the feasibility of freeing any captives." The silver haired jonin simply nodded.

"You will eliminate Gato and his men. You will do so in such a way as to minimize survivors. We do not need bandits escaping to terrorize the locals. Remember the point is to make the locals indebted to us. Can you do this?"

"Yes." All three genin responded at once. The Hokages simply raised an eyebrow inviting elaboration.

"This is what we've been training for sir." Hinata calmly replied meeting her leaders stare with an impassive mask.

"Individually our chances of pulling it off are slim, but working together we shouldn't have any problems." Naruto elaborated.

"What will you do if you encounter Gato's remaining missing nin?" Hiruzen asked.

"Hokage-sama, we are not their mission, we'll offer compensation and go from there." Kakashi spoke up before his students could screw up the last point they did not have the experience to answer.

Hiruzen leaned back in his chair puffing on his pipe.

"Team Kakashi, gather all the supplies you will need. You leave in the morning. ANBU Rat will accompany you to observe and to handle the transfer of Gato's finances, and business to several of the villages dummy corporations, also to lay the groundwork for future operations in wave."

"Yes, sir!" The team chorused before dispersing to begin preparations.

"Why let them go, another team could have been sent?" The voice drifted from a darkened corner of the room where the speaker stood cloaked in a genjutsu.

Hiruzen silently puffed on his pipe. "Have you seen the latest reports?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

"We will need them soon. They need to be ready, they need the experience."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

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The group of five moved silently. They had barely spoken ten words since leaving the Leaf. For Rat and Kakashi it was a lack of things worth saying, but for the genin the silence was born out of contemplation and anticipation. In their minds they were putting years of psych training to work; Gato and his thugs became targets. The fact that they were humans became... secondary.

It wasn't perfect but the rudimentary mindset was there. Time and practice would be needed before they could immerse themselves in it fully, but even at ninja speeds they had several days to reinforce that way of thinking, as well as however long they spent researching the targets before making their move.

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"Kakashi-senpai." Rat murmured under his breath.

"I know. We have a shadow. Hinata, distance, direction, and appearance."

"Hai!" With a thought the veins surrounding her eyes bulged. "Two tails. First is thirty meters out at our eight o'clock. Face is wrapped, no eyebrows, massive sword, maybe seven or eight feet from the tip to the base of the grip. It looks like a massive butcher knife."

"Zabuza Momochi, A rank nukenin from Mist." Kakashi intoned quietly.

"Second tail, seven o'clock, fifty meters, hunter nin mask, wave insignia."

"Interesting… Hinata, take point, find us a clearing."

"On it!" The girl called out as she moved to the head of the group and peeled off slightly to the left. Within a few minutes the group settled in a clearing. Following Hinata's lead they stood ready faced towards the oncoming jounin.

The echoing voice that filtered seemingly from everywhere did nothing to fool Hinata's eyes as she continued to pivot and follow Zabuza. "Ah, leaf nin." Zabuza's voice rasped even as it oozed condescension. "You five wouldn't happen to know what happened to some associates of mine, would you? Pair of brothers, a bit dim in the head, big gauntlets, and a chain?"

Kakashi hummed thoughtfully. "Well, now that you mention it… Yeah, they're dead." The silver haired jounin gave a careless shrug leaving his right hand hovering near his back for easy access to the double barrel sawed off shotgun strapped along his back.

"Hmm, that so? I don't see the old geezer they were after with you. I don't suppose they at least managed to take him out before you killed them, did they?"

"Oh, Tazuna is doing just fine. Though we had to cancel his escort mission and bring him back to the Leaf in light of the fact that he lied about the mission parameters."

"I see. So what you are telling me, is that my target is safely hidden behind the walls of your village. Which begs the question, what are you here for?"

"A business proposition, for you." Rat cut in.

"Oh? Is that so? What sort of proposition might that be?" For the first time genuine interest colored Zabuza's tone.

"The Hidden Leaf would like to pay you to abandon your current contract." Rat stated tonelessly. With a flick of the wrist a storage scroll was spread across the grass of the clearing and with a burst of chakra and smoke several large stacks of bills appeared atop it.

The genin tensed as the silence stretched on in the wake of Rat's proposition. Hinata's fingers took on the hazy glow of concentrated chakra. Naruto's hands hovered just above his knife and revolver. Sasuke fingered the ring of a kunai. Kakashi and Rat stood comparatively at ease though that was more illusion than fact. Experience guided them to not tense up, loose muscles move faster than tensed.

Uproarious laughter shattered the silence.

"Interesting! You're out to kill that swine Gato, aren't you?" Zabuza's voice took on a disgusting sweetness, and he chuckled darkly. "Hmm, it's bad business to abandon a contract you know. But then I doubt I'll have a shot at the bridge builder until after you've dealt with Gato, and I can't exactly collect a paycheck from a dead man, now can I?"

Zabuza stalked into the clearing ghosting out from between the trees.

"I was only hired to perform an assassination anyway. Nothing in my contract said anything about protecting that little shit. Ah, shame this didn't go differently. I'd have enjoyed the chance to fight you, Copy-nin." Zabuza stated with a leer. As he stepped forward to retrieve the scroll the group from Leaf took several steps back following Rat's lead.

"Perhaps another time." Kakashi responded brightly shooting the mist nin his signature eye smile.

Zabuza resealed the money and made his way out of the clearing at a leisurely pace. "Good hunting Leaf-nin." He called over his shoulder before disappearing back into the trees.

For several minutes the group stood silently.

"He's met up with the one in the hunter mask. The pair are making their way south together." Hinata finally declared.

"Any chance he'll circle back to try and take us by surprise?" Naruto asked still fingering his weapons.

"Doubtful. He would gain nothing by attacking us. Also he knows if we are willing to pay him off then we're serious about killing Gato. Getting in between an entire village and a target would be suicide for a lone pair, no matter how skilled." Rat spoke calmly.

"Rat's correct. We will keep an eye out just to be safe, but I doubt we'll see them again on this mission." Kakashi calmly stated. "Let's move team. We still have a few hours of daylight left. We'll stop at the cost before meeting with Tazuna's boatman contact in the morning."

With silent nods the group launched themselves back into the forest.


	13. Chapter 13

Ch 13

AN: Right edits have been made! Dialogue is cleaned up a bit and the whole silencer/suppressor issue addressed. Also I got a lot of people arguing against the firing pin… I'm not sure my new solution is really any better but it's not really any worse either so… yeah. Right, disclaimer time!

"No! No! You can't do this! They are _my_ characters and setting, _mine_ I tell you!" screamed an angry Japanese man.

"Ah but you see that is where you are wrong person who's name I don't care enough to learn! I can do whatever I want with your characters and setting because I freely admit that they are yours and not mine! I can ship the cast, I can add guns, **I can destroy the stations of canon!** I have infinite power over their puny existence! Mwahahahaha!" Fencer22 responded, forcing his readers question his sanity.

Reader responses:

 **Draco2306:** seals and lightning chakra would remove the power limitation on rail guns, though I'm a bit behind on how those are developing. Last time I did any research people were still trying to solve the issue of the heat involved melting the rails after one or two shots. Did they ever solve that? Either way it is an option but one that relies on a different type of physics so it likely won't come up. Still I'll keep it in mind.

 **TJG:** I like the idea you proposed of a sleep grenade though the idea of channeling a genjutsu through seals sounds a bit overcomplicated. Probably simpler to seal a knockout gas or perhaps a lethal gas into the grenade then have it release those seals when the pin is pulled, after a several second delay.

* * *

Slipping across the border into wave had proven almost painfully simple for the shinobi. A small two-man patrol circling the island was all the resistance they had encountered. Simply waiting for the inattentive patrol to pass and slipping into the sparse forests of the island had proved sufficient. Not being spotted afterword proved slightly more difficult but only slightly.

The group moved well into the forest and away from any obvious path before setting up their bed rolls. The question of lighting a fire was never even asked. Hostile territory was no place to risk smoke. Meals would be premade food bars and pellets until all hostiles were dealt with.

With very little delay the group had launched into intelligence gathering.

Hinata and Naruto under henge as an elderly married couple had moved through the villages at a shambling pace picking up gossip and surveying what little was being sold. The pair slowly built up an image of the impact the occupation was having on the populace. What the pair found shocked and sickened them. Gato's hired thugs made regular trips through the city. Whenever one was spotted woman and young girls would disappear into shops and homes. The message their timely absence sent left Hinata relishing the chance to open hostilities with Gato's forces.

Food was scarce. The people of wave were, to a man, getting by on far less food than was healthy. Several seemed to be on the brink of outright starvation. To Naruto this brought back dark memories of his early years in the orphanage, years before joining the ninja program, before meeting his surrogate uncle. Those memories were not pleasant and for all his attempts to remain professional and unattached he, like Hinata, found himself incensed on behalf of the people of wave.

The couple quickly found themselves in complete agreement. Eliminating Gato and his men was a job, they would be paid for it, and the village would be paid for it. There are no free services, but this would be one job they were only too happy to carry out, and if several of the worst offenders happened to die particularly slow and painful deaths… well no one would make a fuss about it.

Kakashi slipped into a role he was born to play, the lazy pervert. Henged as a down on his luck fisherman Kakahsi moved from brothel to brothel. The island's small size meant that there were only a few such establishments but lonely sailors represent a business opportunity. The small port towns had taken advantage of the easy income.

The situation in the brothels was slightly better than that on the streets. Early in the occupation the brothels had been flooded with money, that money had kept them fed longer than most. Now with food stores around the island running dangerously low they had taken to accepting food as payment for services rendered.

While many of the less scrupulous men in Gato's employ where all too happy to take up with the woman acquired for and now residing within the camp, some of the men preferred willing company. Even if that company required payment. Between the early upsurge in business and funds and the new regulars bringing food in trade the woman so far fared far better than most of the island.

With a few fish pulled from the Ocean Kakashi was able to spend several hours socializing with the woman wheedling out information they had picked up from loose lipped braggarts in Gato's camp.

Sasuke and Rat worked together on the most difficult portion of the intelligence gathering operation, analyzing the enemy camp and patrols. Rat brought to the operation a seasoned eye for details such as vulnerabilities and troop movements while Sasuke searched out likely positions from which the shooters could deliver their particular brand of death.

As the other two groups completed their preliminary investigations they moved on to assist. Kakashi aided Rat while Naruto and Hinata looked into Sasuke's possible shooting positions and added their own expertise in selecting which spots offered the most benefits.

After a week of careful observations, it was finally time to pool their collective knowledge.

"The bridge builder's family was taken by Gato's men three days ago; his Daughter Tsunami and grandson Inari. Well at least that's the story going around, no one saw them snatched but no one has actually seen them period." Naruto said before taking a bite out of an energy bar.

"I scanned the house with my Byakugan from a distance. The place has been sacked and there are signs of a struggle and that scavengers picked the house clean. No signs of any bodies, alive or dead."

Sasuke grunted. "So the clients primary reason for returning and completing his bridge, something critical to getting the most out of this deal, is missing and possibly dead. That could cause problems. Considering Tazuna is the only real resistance left to Gato's regime though, it's hardly surprising Gato would move to get leverage over him."

"They're alive." Kakashi cut in. "One of Gato's men was talking about how Inari was being kept in one of Gato's cells… Apparently though, the little man has taken a liking to the mother."

"Bastard." Hinata cursed.

"Could be a lot worse though." Naruto said thoughtfully. "We know they're alive and we know where they are. They're both being kept in Gato's mansion. If she were being kept with the rest, we might have needed to try and evacuate her from one of the barracks buildings. Not to mention the nightmare it would be just to confirm she's alive if we didn't already know."

"It also means that however badly she's been treated she'll likely be better off than the others." Sasuke muttered while inspecting the edge of one of his kuni. "I highly doubt Gato is one for sharing."

Rat remained silent. As an observer it was his primary duty to analyze the team particularly the genin and their approach to the situation. He would of course contribute what information he had gathered when the time came but for now he was mentally cataloging the teen's reactions and thought processes.

"I know there are two sets of large docks used by cargo boats, I picked up that much, but I didn't get many useful details. Hinata, Naruto, did you two have better luck?" Kakashi asked.

"Fifty men are stationed at each dock. No scheduled check-ins as far as I can tell. Though Naruto and I did notice that a runner, carrying what we suspect to be the ship's inventory, was sent to the main camp after each ship was loaded or unloaded. Also a man would sometimes swing by on patrol, but that seemed completely random."

"That's a lot of men just to guard a dock." Sasuke pointed out.

"Not really," Naruto cut in. "The docks are only part of what they are there for. The majority of their job is to guard the warehouses so the locals don't steal anything. With how desperate some of them are getting it's a valid concern."

"A hundred men tied up with the docks on opposite ends of the island, and they communicate with the main force only infrequently. That's good news, very good news." Kakashi murmured. "We didn't have time to identify every hostile but Rat and my rough estimates place the main force at approximately three hundred and eighty to four hundred men. Additionally, we noticed that they have men patrolling the island, both the towns and the island perimeter at all times. However due to the lack of discipline and training the number on patrol fluctuates anywhere from twenty to fifty men at any given time with no firm patrol routes. They seem to patrol in groups of two to five people."

"Ambushing them would be easy." Hinata offered. "They might even go a few hours before anyone noticed a patrol missing. With discipline what it is the main group would just assume they were amusing themselves in one of the towns."

Kakashi nodded. "Possibly but without any kind of patrol route we would have to follow them directly from the main base. That would eat up time that could be better spent dealing with the larger groupings of enemy forces. Not to mention we would need to take out an uncertain number of groups. Now then that just leaves the most critical part, the main camp."

Finally, Rat decided to speak up. "Six buildings; Gato's mansion, four barracks housing roughly a hundred men each, and the mess hall. The compound is surrounded the sorriest excuse for a wall I have ever seen. Ten-foot-high chain link fence, it's not even topped with razor wire." Rat snorted dismissively.

"The Barracks and mess are nothing special, the mansion is built in the newer style, big windows, thin walls made of wood not stone. Guards are posted around the compound and outside Gato's mansion. Also he keeps two or more of the more competent swordsman nearby at all times."

Naruto looked up. "How competent are we talking?"

"Not very, shouldn't cause any problems."

"Hitting the chainlink fence could throw off a shot." Hinata murmured. "Probably not by much, but no reason to not to plan around it."

Sasuke nodded. "Right so we'll want to shoot from positions higher up than ten feet."

"A lot higher than that if you want an unobstructed shot at someone patrolling the fence line. But if the bullet is only traveling a foot or two... a minor alteration in trajectory shouldn't foul the shot too badly." Naruto hummed thoughtfully before pulling out a pen and his notebook full of ballistic calculations. Quickly the blonde began to crunch numbers using best and worst case scenarios for how a bullet would be deflected from hitting the chainlink fence.

A thoughtful silence fell over the group.

"Alright, here's what we're going to do." The group directed all of their attention to the one eyed jounin, this was his mission to direct, and they would follow his lead.

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"Whiskers, Moon, and Pinwheel checking in, we're in position."

"Copy that, Whiskers. Rat and I are set. Move in sixty seconds, meet back at the rendezvous point in an hour. Remember, keep it quiet, we can't afford an alarm."

"Roger that, Whiskers out."

The three genin nodded to one another. The veins around Hinata's eyes bulged and her range of vision expanded to five hundred and sixty-three meters, a new personal best. With a thought she reeled in the range in and focused.

It took a few second but the girl quickly had eyes on the fifty targets. Thirty of the targets slept in cheap bunks laid out inside the various warehouses. Ten actively patrolled around the warehouses while the final ten stood loose guard around the docks.

Hinata silently conveyed the intelligence to her team with a series of hand gestures. The boys signed back acknowledgment and the trio moved silently from the tree line towards the mercenaries.

Slipping into the water the genin slowly moved under the docks and out to the only ship in the harbor, which was currently being patrolled by four men. Using chakra to cling to the outside of the boat the genin eased out of the water. By flowing chakra along their skin they collected what water clung to them and eased it back into the ocean trusting the gentle noise of the waves to cover any noise they might make.

Nodding to one another they vaulted over the railing and onto the deck. Hinata landed behind the only one standing near them. A silent Juken strike to the back of the head caused a concussion. The first strike was followed by pair of palm strikes to the temples which liquefied grey matter near the point of impact and caused severe bruising throughout the brain. The man collapsed lifelessly only to be caught by her teammates before the body could hit the deck.

Each genin pulled out a knife and stalked over to one of the remaining three guards on the boat. Throats were slit and the deck ran red. Moving silently they continued taking out guards in two's and three's, hiding the bodies then moving on. Finally, they entered the warehouse where the remaining men slept. They moved among the sleepers administering death.

Finally finished with their appointed task the genin collapsed back against the interior wall of the warehouse. Their hands shook and minds reeled. The adrenaline slowly bleeds out of their systems. It had taken them only twenty minutes. The next five were spent silently. Each working to center themselves. After five minutes their pulses had evened out and the shaking had diminished. With a final look at their handiwork the genin fled into the forest and towards the rendezvous point.

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Rat glanced sideways at Kakashi. "They're taking longer than I'd expected."

"Give them a bit. Remember this is some of the first action they've seen. They're going to be cautious. Besides split evenly that's at least seventeen kills apiece. I wouldn't be surprised if they need a few minutes."

"They're really that fresh?" Kakashi hummed an affirmative. "Then why give them this mission at all?"

"It's what they've been training for. We would have needed to test them out at some point."

"Trial by fire."

"The only kind that matters." The pair fell silent for a moment. "Here they come now." Proving his words, the genin dropped into the small clearing one at a time from a low tree branch. "Right then, everyone knows what to do, we attach at O-one hundred."

The teams rearranged themselves and moved off to their next positions.

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"This is Moon. I'm set in overwatch and Whiskers is ready to pick off any surprises." Hinata murmured into her radio. Naruto and Hinata lay prone on the crest of a hill, three hundred meters from the fence line, enshrouded in a pair of ghillie suits. Both had their rifles out though Hinata fully intended to let Naruto take any shots, should they prove necessary. She would do her duty if needed, she already had down at the docks, but she would be happy not to need to kill again so soon.

"Alright Moon, this is your show, call it out and lead us in." Kakashi's voice hissed through the group's earbuds. Naruto shot his girlfriend a reassuring smile before turning his attention back to the compound arrayed below them.

"Copy Cyclops. Guard patrol heading your way, three men sticking right to the edge of the fence. Looks like their drinking. Hold position they should move past you in a couple of minutes. Once their past cut through the fence and eliminate."

Naruto and Hinata watched with a sort of morbid curiosity as Kakashi Rat and Sasuke followed instructions and silently eliminated the three patrolling guards. Then with a few hand seals and a stomped foot the earth rose up and swallowed the dead men.

"Targets eliminated Moon, though I suppose you saw that?"

"Confirmed. You have maybe ten minutes until the next patrol staggers past the hole in the fence."

"That's not enough time to plant charges and clear the mansion." Sasuke muttered over the connection.

"Moon describe the remaining patrols." Rat demanded in a calm steady voice.

"Two groups; a group of three and a group of two. The Compounds almost completely dark. I'm only seeing a few lights one or two from barracks windows and one from the mansion. I'd recommend taking out the patrols before moving on the main objectives."

"That should work just fine." Kakashi answered before the three ninja took off at a run another set of silent assassinations and the team moved on to set up demolition tags on the outside of the barracks. The mess hall was left untouched as they reasoned it could be used to help feed the starving citizens and start building up that good will they were directed to cultivate.

Then the team slipped into the mansion.

Hinata directed the group through the mansion allowing them to kill each guard silently and prevent anyone from sounding an alarm. At last, the team made it to Gato's bedroom.

The guards outside the door were dropped by a pair of throwing knives to the throat. The encroaching ninja did not bother to catch the bodies. The noise of the bodies hitting the floor failed to wake Gato. With contemptuous ease Kakashi ghosted across the floor to Gato's bed and slit the little tyrant's throat.

With a shudder Hinata wrenched her focus away from the Gato's cooling corps and noticed a group of five men heading for the compound entrance.

"Cyclops, roving patrol inbound for the main gate!" Hinata hissed into her headset.

"Damn it." Kakashi cursed. "Alright on my mark Whiskers start picking them off. Moon keep an eye on the barracks. As soon as one of those morons makes it to the door tell me and I'll blow the tags."

"Why wait?" Naruto asked already adjusting position and aim.

"If I blow the buildings first the patrol might scatter, now, stop questioning orders! Are you ready?" For a brief moment the line was silent.

"Ready."

"Open fire."

The crack of Naruto's rifle shattered the silence of the night.

Through the scope, under the light of a three quarters moon, Naruto could clearly see his target crumple.

Time seemed to stretch on endlessly. Years of designing, building, refining. Years of target practice, of hopes and dreams, and in that moment it was all justified, validated. His pulse tried to spike with his elation and his conscience tried to rear its head.

Then the moment passed. Naruto's training and practice kicked in with a vengeance. Exhaling explosively Naruto pulled back the bolt of his rifle completing a seal and depositing the next round into its place before slamming the bolt home again. With a shallow inhale Naruto adjusted his aim minutely to bring the sights squarely in line with the next target who seemed to be staring stunned at his downed companion.

He pulled the trigger and the rifle kicked against his shoulder. Another target dropped. And then another followed.

The remaining two came to their senses and bolted. One back the way the group had come and one into the woods.

The rifle barked again and the one dashing down the road collapsed before starting to crawl. Another crack of the rifle put an end to the man's struggles.

Naruto was vaguely aware of Hinata saying something beside him before a massive explosion ripped through the night.

A detached part of Naruto realized this meant the mission was essentially over. The thought brought a small grim smile to the blonde's lips.

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AN: AHAHAHAHA I've cleared the wave arc! Not sure why but that feels like a serious victory. Anyway read and review folks!


	14. Chapter 14

AN: Let me see here… don't own Naruto! Holly shit! There are more than 600 of you now! Jeez you readers multiply like rabbits! Seriously though, thank you for following, favoriting, and reviewing. You all make this hobby of mine so much more satisfying with your interest and support.

Reader responses!

SETHRX7: … I'm going to steal that idea.

Guest: Why?! Why must you do this shit to me?! You have a ton of interesting things to say that I could have fun debating with you by PM to contribute to the quality of the story and I can't because you don't have an account and reviewed as guest. WHY?! Curse you guest!

*sigh*

You have some interesting points which I can see myself adapting but no I'm not going to have every village suddenly developing guns and if I did they would be peace of shit, slow firing, smooth bore monstrosities. Or, canons which would fire projectiles of size based on the strength of the standard explosive tag, or on the strength of multiple tags. Nothing small enough to be used in a gun that wouldn't break your arm. I like how you think but honestly what I've done is pushing suspension of disbelief already. Having everyone else catch up overnight would just ruin the story.

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Sasuke sat calmly atop the mess hall waiting for dawn and keeping watch with his rifle resting atop his lap. To any observer the raven haired teen was perfectly calm, internally the teens mind is awhirl with chaotic thoughts and emotions.

The day had been long and exhausting but when Kakashi had asked who wanted to pull watch Sasuke had volunteered instantly. The day's events would have kept him up regardless. Twenty-seven men. He had killed twenty-seven men personally tonight and had helped plant the tags which killed close to four hundred more. That was not even questioning any _prisoners_ who may have died in the explosion.

Finding Tazuna's family in lockup under Gato's mansion had been a great relief though extremely awkward for the Raven haired teen. Gratitude and hero worship did not sit comfortably on his shoulders, especially not with so many deaths still prominent in his mind.

Sasuke secretly reveled in the fact he would get a few hours early in the day to sleep. Hopefully the worst of the adoration would get dumped on his teammates before he had to face the world.

Of course Rat was also up still. The ANBU agent had jumped into his appointed task with energy more suitable to a force of nature. The movement of monies, corporations, and valuables through difficult to track transactions was his specialty and the chance to practice it on such a large scale must have seemed like a rare treat.

From the muttering, Gato's various business holdings would soon be owned by various front organizations in the Leafs' employ and his personal accounts would soon fill the village coffer. That thought drew a small vindictive smirk from the teen.

The team had performed excellently on this mission, that thought sparked off a surge of pride. Their team had been active for only a few months and already they had pulled off, for all intents and purposes, a coup d'état. Granted the opposing forces were barely trained, and the fight had been anything but fair. Explosives and guns against mostly sleeping men carrying knives and clubs was an almost foregone conclusion.

Sasuke smiled smugly for a moment reveling in his and his team's superiority.

Then, in the nature of such things, those feeling of superiority caused, for a few moments, a lapse in his attention. In those moments the remainder of Gato's forces, who had been visiting the village or patrolling the island, rounded a bend in the road and gained a clear view of what was only hours previously their base.

Twenty some odd men stared wide eyed at the devastation before them.

The barracks smoldering wreckage left them in horrified awe. For a few moments they stood still before with an inarticulate cry one of the men broke into a run for the compound. His companions shouted out for him to stop, come back, or wait. When he failed to listen the group took off after him.

The shouting broke Sasuke from his thoughts. Cursing the teen lifted his rifle and aimed at the leading man.

The man running full sprint in only the light of the moon realized that this was not perhaps his smartest move as he tripped slightly and had to catch himself on his hands. A loud noise, something reminiscent of a firecracker caused all the charging men to look up to the top of the mess hall. There silhouetted against the first hints of the sunrise sat a person aiming some kind of stick at them.

Sasuke cursed himself for missing the shot. Even with that moron tripping he should have been able to at least hit him! Maybe he wasn't actually in good enough condition to have taken the watch. Exhaustion can catch up with anyone after all.

Cursing again as the group continued their charge Sasuke opened fire. Even with all his hours at the shooting range the second shot also went wide. The first miss and number of enemies had rattled the teen and his aim suffered for it. With an epithet he adjusted his aim towards the more closely packed group trailing just behind the first man.

This time the bullet hit flesh but it was a graze at best on one of the men on the left edge of the charging group. The man spun half way round before with a grimace resuming the charge. The following shot a moment later hit the injured man in the chest. He tumbled and went down.

Sasuke did not pause to see if he would get back up before switching his aim to the next target and pulling the trigger. Another body tumbled onto the dirt path.

But to Sasuke's rising panic the group was closing in fast and he could tell he wouldn't have time to shoot them all.

"Fuck!" Sasuke shouted sealing the rifle into the storage seal on his inner right arm. Mindful of the location of the doors and windows Sasuke jumped to the ground.

Hearing glass shatter he turned to his right and was greeted by the sight of Hinata leaning through the broken remains of a window with her Mauser pistol in hand. The pistol barked and flashed as Hinata began firing into the group. She was joined a moment later by Naruto wilding his slower but more powerful revolver.

Still between their sleep addled minds and the poor lighting several shots went wide or high, and the gap between the groups was rapidly shrinking. Inwardly the teens cursed the group for not just running away.

"Naruto, wind! On my mark!" Sasuke shouted. His blond teammate seamlessly transitioned from firing to holstering his side arm before standing hands making the first seal in preparation. "Now!"

In tandem the two teens ran through a series of seals each before inhaling deeply. As one they breathed out. The boulder sized balls of flame and wind merged as they reached the miraculously still living mercenary who lead the charge. The flames went from red with streaks of orange to brilliant orange with streaks of white, and nearly doubled in size.

The inferno swept over the remainder of the attackers. When the chakra burned out and the flames disappeared only charred corpses remained in its wake.

Yawning Kakashi stepped out the front door of the mess hall. The former ANBU calmly took in the situation before turning around and heading back to his sleeping bag. After all, the genin had everything under control.

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Kakashi regretted the decision to leave his genin to clean up the bodies and complete the watch. He regretted it because aside from a pair of Naruto's shadow clones assisting in the kitchen of the mess hall he was on his own.

His student's argument while simplistic had been hard to counter. They had maybe three hours of sleep between them and had spent the early hours burying the attack force they had repelled. His counter argument that they had done so using jutsu and not by hand was ignored as the teens marched themselves to bed and left him to deal with the locals.

Really if anyone on the team was cut out for playing politics and calming people down it was Hinata. Her station within her clan as well as her natural kindness would have served her well.

On the other hand, a Hinata who had gone through three combat fueled adrenaline highs, and crashes, and who had only an hour and a half of sleep is in no way pleasant or reasonable. She was also more than a little scary.

Thus Kakashi found himself organizing lines to hand out rice to the locals and reassuring people that Tazuna would soon return to finish construction of the bridge. He constantly reaffirmed that the land of fire would be sending aid as well.

The village had settled on a splitting the spoils with the Damio. The village would get Gato's money and businesses, while the fire Damio would become the controlling power in the land of wave. A nice tidy solution that benefited everyone and would continue to benefit them all long term.

Except for Kakashi. He was stuck dealing with people and organizing things while the rest of his team slept. Oh how he wished he could just ignore everyone and read his beloved books. Maybe, he thought, he could look forward to a bonus?

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Three days, the illicit takeover of a multinational corporation, the organization of a group to support the locals until outside aid arrived, and the Team from leaf set off for home.

Three days after that they stood in the Hokage's office to give a mission debrief. For their efforts and a flawlessly executed mission the team received the much appreciated bonus of a week off.

Implicit in that vacation was the temporary stay of execution by cat wrangling.

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Naruto sat at a table off to the side of the forge flipping through a series of notebooks and writing down ideas. He had in fact spent the past hour doing exactly that, silently.

Sasuke who had spent the first half hour sitting there sharpening his kuni became more and more frustrated as time passed.

"Well?" Sasuke finally snapped breaking the silence between the two.

Naruto continued to write for a few more moments holding up a finger to show he wanted Sasuke to wait. Almost a minute later he closed his notebook leaned back in his chair and rubbed at his eyes with his palms.

"Maybe."

"Maybe?"

"The idea is simple. The problem is making it happen." Sasuke stayed silent waiting for his teammate, his friend even, to elaborate. "Increasing the rate of fire so you can send a wave of bullets at groups of enemies instead of trying to carefully pick them off one at a time is a good idea, especially if we find ourselves getting charged by a large group of enemies. More bullets also mean the target is more likely to stay down if you miss something vital with the first shot."

"...But?"

Naruto let out a sigh. "But the seals aren't really designed for the _flow_ of chakra you would need. As they are now the Chakra _charges_ between shots drawing the chakra from the shooter. For your idea to work I need a way to massively cut down the charging time for every aspect of the gun and the timing will need to be a lot more precise than anything I've ever done before."

"So you're saying you can't do it?" Sasuke asked arching an eyebrow.

Naruto laughed. "Oh hell no! That's not what I said at all! Hell, I'm looking forward to it! This'll be the first real challenge I've had since I managed to perfect the seals for the ghillie suits! I've still got to finish up that new hand gun design I was working on but I think you just gave me my next big project." The Blond explained with an easy grin and an excited gleam to his eye.

"I've got a few ideas of my own that I'd like to try out for dealing with large groups of enemies too, but I'm looking forward to working on this." Naruto continued with a vicious smirk.

Sasuke matched Naruto with his own predatory smile.

Not too much later Sasuke left Naruto to his work.

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"Hinata, please tell me we are done now?" Naruto moaned as he hauled a half dozen bags of clothes, shoes, baubles, and training gear that his girlfriend had bought and forced him to carry.

"Shush." The girl responded. "This is your punishment for talking Kakashi into going after that cat. You still owe me an order of cinnamon buns and a nice message if you want me to even consider helping with the new one." She said primly.

Naruto sighed dejectedly. "Yes dear." He said somewhat flippantly, for which she smacked the back of his head.

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Kakashi slipped into the jounin bar and was greeted warmly. He bought his first drink before spending the rest of the night getting free drinks in exchange for bragging about how his team of genin only six months out of the academy successfully staged a coup d'état for a minor nation.

All in all, the team had a very successful week off.

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Their you have it folks! That is the official conclusion of the wave arc, a few cute scenes, and the promise of future implements of death and destruction! Read and Review!


	15. Chapter 15

AN: nothing has changed. I still do not own Naruto. Shocker, yeah?

I decided on a few things. The first is that I want to do more with the weeklong vacation. Partly because I'm getting writers block on moving past it and partly because I thought up some fun scenes. The second is that I thought about following the stations of canon but then I asked myself, why the fuck would I do something that boring and predictable? Then I said to myself, Fencer, if you're going to throw out large chunks of the plot and replace them with something better, than you might as well do it right. So I did. And now I'm setting the stage for some of that.

Reader responses:

 **SanctUm oF NiGhtmares** : the current plan is for Naruto to go through several prototypes while working his way through the idea. Burst fire will come up though I don't want to spoil the how.

 **lightfuture** : I will do my best to provide balance in the types of combat. I think I've said this before but I'll say it again now nothing but sniping scenes would get dull to read or write so I'll do my best to keep things fresh.

 **Guest** : more specifically the one bitching about putting Hinata on team 7 instead of Sakura. First off I'm not a virgin. Not the most experienced thanks to some hang ups my x had, but not a virgin. Second Hinata is _**not**_ godlike in this fic. She has only her canon abilities and guns. Either use a real account to post your but hurt hissy fits about how writers cut characters out of the plot for _**valid**_ and _**explained**_ reasons, or better yet stop wasting people's time.

 **Apocalypse1950** : it's fine really I'd like to update more often, and I'm hoping some recent changes to my schedule will see me updating all my fics more often. Even if that does not work the way I hope one of my Worm fics is almost complete which will bring the number of fics I'm juggling down to 3 and hopefully that will let me get posts out more frequently for the remaining fics….. That said I've been sitting on the first post of a couple of RWBY fics…. and I've got a plot bunny dogging me about a Naruto/Chronicles of the Black Company fic. Though that one is more of a concept than an actual plot. And that is completely forgetting the three original story ideas I've been kicking around…. I'm not reassuring you about the update speed at all am I?

 **RogueSnyper:** Thanks for the positive review and for throwing some interesting ideas at me. I checked out the HP Starwars cross you mentioned. While I'm glad I could help you with it I'm afraid it just wasn't my cup of tea.

More moments from the vacation week!

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Sasuke Uchiha followed behind the sounds of chaos and muffled screams. He had in fact been doing so for several hours now. A notepad filled with notes and a pen are held firmly in his hands.

Stopping briefly, he observed the scene below him before jotting down a few notes.

Two quite thumps from behind him were ignored in favor of taking more notes.

"What are you doing, genin?" Asked jounin Kurenai Yuhi.

"I'm observing your team as well as Asuma-sensei's team in preparation for the end of my teams leave." Sasuke replied honestly without looking away from his notes.

"And why do you need to observe our teams to prep for the end of your leave?" Asuma asked.

"... Our team may or may not be responsible for the assassination of a certain feline… Which may or may not be directly responsible for the new furry menaces." Sasuke answered. "Before leaving on our last mission Hokage-sama made it clear we would be responsible for dealing with them as punishment when we returned."

The jounin shared a look.

"Hypothetically speaking… who happened to be the one to snuff the kami forsaken cat?" Asuma asked.

"That would be Kakashi-sensai."

"...Kurenai, do you remember if anyone ever bet that Kakashi would be the one to do it?"

That statement was interesting enough to actually get Sasuke to turn away from the scene below where the two teams of genin were being cut to ribbons by a trio of cats.

Kurenai looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking her head. "I don't think so… what does that mean for the pool? Does it transfer to the next person to kill one of the new cats?"

Asuma rubbed at his beard. "Not sure. Maybe split the pot between the three new cats?"

Kurenai hummed thoughtfully. Sasuke just shook his head and turned back to the fight going on below him only to wince and start furiously scribbling notes as Kiba let out a particularly unmanly scream.

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Kakashi walked down a busy street Icha-Icha in hand chuckling quietly to himself about a particularly interesting scene involving a couple in a public bath hidden only by a bit of steam as they tried not to make any noise that might alert other bathers.

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The sound of a bell chiming caused Higurashi to look up from a magazine he had been flipping through to pass the time.

The sight of Hinata was enough to have him hastily stuffing the magazine away…. Just not before Hinata got a decent look at the center fold. While Hinata glared at Higurashi a part of her wondered idly if Naruto would like her with bunny ears. She silently decided to experiment with the Henge at a later date.

"H-Hinata, aha, are you here looking for Naruto?" Higurashi asked sheepishly. "I'm afraid he's locked himself in his room to experiment with some seals for a new project we're working on."

Hinata shook her head. "No I'm not here to see Naruto, or at least not him specifically. Though I may go see him once we are finished here."

"We?"

The bell above the door rang again and in stepped Hiashi, and Hanabi Hyuga.

Higurashi stood hurriedly and bowed slightly. "Hyuga-sama, it is an honor. What can I do for you today?"

Hiashi face remained impassive though if one were to look carefully they may have seen the barest upwards twitch at the corner of his lips. "I've come on a bit of business."

Higurashi seemed slightly puzzled at this. "Is your clan in need of more shuriken, or kunai? I thought your clan bought from one of the other stores? I'm more focused on specialty orders."

Hiashi nodded. "I'm well aware of that. In fact, it is your specialty orders which have brought me here." He admitted.

For the briefest of moments all those present could swear that Higurashi's eyes were replaced with ryo signs. Then the moment passed and Higurashi schooled his face back to neutrality.

"Of course, sir. What were you looking for? A ceremonial sword perhaps? Or maybe one of our wrist mounted dart launchers? The range and accuracy are not great, but they are a nasty surprise."

Hiashi gave a small smirk and Hinata giggled lightly as Hanabi looked around the shop with mild interest. "Actually, I'm looking to purchase one of the Higurashi-Uzumaki collaboration pieces that I've been hearing so much about from my eldest. I'd like to see Hanabi start training with one."

Hanabi glanced up from a pair of sword to frown at her father. She had only been told to follow him and her sister. Frankly she was confused as to what use she could have for any weapon when it was widely acknowledged that she was very good at her clan's fighting style.

Higurashi's eyes widened and he slammed a palm down onto a seal tag resting on the counter before applying a bit of his chakra to it. It wasn't much but it was just about all the smith was able to channel. "That should let Naruto know I need him down here. Though he may take a few minutes depending on how complicated what he is working on might be." The Hyuga clan head nodded in acknowledgment. "In the meantime, you are on the council, so you know this requires the Hokage's permission."

Hanabi's eyes widened slightly at that as she began to glance between the rooms occupants. Silently she asked herself what kind of weapon could require that sort of secrecy.

Hiashi merely nodded and produced a document for the weapon smith who took it wordlessly.

"The two of you have produced something truly remarkable. I would be a fool not to prepare for the future when my clan can so clearly profit from it." Hinata smiled widely at her father's words. This was a great step on the road to achieving her dream. A new and better Hyuga clan.

Naruto slipped into the room without a sound a frown adorned his face but it was quickly replaced with a smile at the sight of his girlfriend. That warm open smile was replaced with a politely neutral mask as he noticed Hinata's family.

"To what do we owe the pleasure, Hyuga-sama?" Naruto asked calmly as he squashed his nervousness at being in the same room as the father of the girl he was dating in secret.

"He's here about a gun." Higurashi supplied looking up from the document in his hand. "And before you ask he's got the Hokage's permission to purchase one."

Naruto looked stunned for a moment before shaking it off and moving to the front door flipping the sign to closed and locking the door.

"Please, follow me, this conversation is better suited for the back of the shop." The blonde said leading the group into the forge and seating everyone at the rooms one table.

"Alright then… Who's the gun for and what are you hoping to get out of it?" Naruto asked bluntly.

"My daughter, Hanabi. After what your team achieved in Wave it's clear to me that your weapons and tactics are going to change things. The Hyuga clan is already in on the ground floor of your venture thanks to Hinata. Now I want ensure that the next generation of my clan will be ready to continue that trend when the time comes."

Naruto nodded thoughtfully. "You do realize that a great deal of what we did in Wave was stealth, knife work, and explosives, right? I don't want to change your mind; I just have to be honest with you. The guns played only a small role in what we did."

Hiashi gave the blonde and appraising look while Higurashi looked horrified at Naruto's admission. The girls and Naruto all kept their faces carefully neutral.

"I appreciate your honesty. I have read the mission reports and I am aware. However, I also remember what you managed to accomplish on your own before graduation." Hiashi said referencing the assassination of the Hokage's shadow clone. "I also remember what those guns were like eight years ago. I highly doubt you will be content to leave them as they are now." The Hyuga clan head said with a small smirk.

Naruto returned the smirk with a full blown grin. "True. Though future projects are not something I'm allowed to speak about. I'm sure you understand."

The man simply inclined his head in response.

Higurashi brought the topic back around before Naruto could somehow screw up this sale and lose them the largest betting pool jackpot in the villages history. "What kind of gun were you hoping to buy for your daughter?"

Here the clan head turned to his eldest and raised a single eyebrow silently asking her to take over the conversation which she did seamlessly. "The byakugan makes the Hyuga almost the perfect spotter, or sniper. Though what it does to our vision makes actually shooting with our eyes active slightly more difficult." She said calmly. "In either case a rifle similar to my own would be the best training tool for the future. Pistols have their uses, but with Hanabi's skill with the Juken, occupying her hands with any kind of weapon during close combat would likely do her more harm than good." Hinata analyzed while staring critically at her sister.

Naruto nodded calmly as he listened to Hinata's analysis.

Then the blonde seemed to glance at Higurashi before his eyes flicked upward towards the ceiling briefly. His surrogate uncle seemed to consider this for a brief moment before shaking his head in the negative. The blonde simply nodded back. They would not be offering the girl a chance at one of the prototypes he was working on.

"We're currently working on a few new ideas which take priority. But we should be able to finish up a copy of Hinata's rifle for Hanabi in a couple of weeks. Though I'm afraid we are going to need a pint of blood your blood for the sealing ink Hanabi. Oh, and you will need to get a rundown on everything before you leave."

Hiashi nodded while his daughter pailed a bit at the sight of the needle and bottle Hinata had pulled out for the blood.

"Right," Naruto said standing. "Hinata I'll leave the blood drawing and explanation to you I'll grab my sealing gear and the blueprints. Higurashi-ojisan, mind getting the forge going?"

"Brat, this is my forge! Of course I'll be the one to get it up and running." Higurashi scoffed without any heat. "You just go grab your doodling supplies."

Naruto just rolled his eyes and headed out of the room as Hinata closed in on her slightly nervous sister, needle at the ready.

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Kakashi sat cheerily atop his apartment building reading Icha-Icha and blushing as a buxom brunette shamelessly wrapped her lips around the manhood of the one she desired in a drunken attempt to break through his clueless nature and show him what he meant to her.

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Sasuke bored out of his mind wandered through the old Uchiha district. Aside from being cleaned almost nothing had been touched, so from time to time the lone survivor would adventure through the abandoned houses looking for items of interest.

Today Sasuke had hit the jackpot. An entire caller used to store nothing but saki.

Cautiously the raven haired teen took a sip of a bottle he had select at random. The smooth taste of a rather mellow rice wine rewarded him. Grinning to himself the Uchiha grabbed the bottle and headed back to his home to enjoy it in piece. Maybe someday soon he would invite his teammates over to drink with him. The thought brought a small smile to his face.

But for now, today, this first time, he would drink by himself to the memory of his lost clan. There would be other days on which to drink to new friends. This first time belonged to him and his losses.

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Kakashi giggled to himself as he ate. His book propped open by a salt shaker allowing him to read about a nurse who pulled a doctor into a supply closet for a quick 'physical'.

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"Naruto, are you aware you have at least three people following you?" Hinata asked letting her Byakugan fade.

"Yup. The ANBU on the roof under the drainage pipe was assigned by some paranoid geezer who thinks because I won my bet with the Hokage I'm now a threat to village security and a flight risk." The blonde shrugged. "Can't really blame them for that and they leave me alone when I'm with Kakashi sensei. It probably won't last too much longer."

"The one who is hiding in the tree is the most obvious of the three because honestly the Hyuga preference for whites and other light shades stands out really well against the green and brown of trees. Probably sent by the elders who are pissed I worked a way around their dojutsu."

"The guy pretending to be a civilian who looks like he wouldn't give a fuck even if someone stabbed him in the gut tailing us by about a block is one of the morons Danzo thinks the Hokage and the rest of the shinobi aren't painfully aware. He's hoping that he can steal my weapons or my notes on them and is even stupider than the rest because all of that stuff is protected by chakra and blood seals to prevent exactly that from happening."

Slight noises emanated from all three locations before the aforementioned ninja bolted away.

The couple shared a look before laughing at the situation. Really trying to keep watch on a stealth specialist and a sensor nin? They would have to do better than that.

"Well that should keep them from bothering me for a little while at least. Sooooo, my place? Sensor suppression and silencing seals?" Naruto asked, with only a slightly nervous look. When your girlfriend's clan can all see through walls getting a bit of privacy to make out was always a struggle. Luckily Naruto was a sealing prodigy.

Hinata hummed thoughtfully drawing out her response to make Naruto sweat a little. "Alright but I need to be home in an hour." With a mischievous grin and a peck on the cheek Hinata took off in the direction of the forge Naruto hot on her heels the pair laughing all the way.

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Kakashi leaned back against the headboard of his bed reading Icha-Icha and frowning. It had been at least fifty pages since the last sex scene. Where were the boobs?!

Oh there they are. Perky c-cups too, nice!"

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In three different locations three completely different old men shared a single sentence as they received the same report.

"Cheeky fucking brat."

The head of ANBU mentally raised stealth training on his to do list.

Danzo decided to accept defeat for the time being less he draw the Hokage's ire. Besides the brat was helping the village, and the technology would spread with time.

The Hyuga elders on the other hand began to rant to one another about the disgrace of a Hyuga working with the brat that could neutralize their eyes. And from the ranting the meager beginnings of a plan to retaliate would form. For they could only look upon the blond and his seals as an attack on the clan's traditions and therefore the clan itself. In their arrogance and in light of their clan heads seeming enthusiasm for the blonde's creations they decided it would fall to them to neutralize such a threat.

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Read, Review and have a happy fourth of July!


	16. Chapter 16

AN: Still don't own Naruto!

Ummm yeah I'm not entirely sure where the hell this even came from. After the last post I just kinda put this together in a couple of hours. I wrote about half of it on my phone at work while riding shotgun in a box truck today. I mean, I already had this stuff planed out in my head... but it sorta just spilled out onto the screen this time which is unusual but nice. It's pretty short this time but it covers everything I wanted to cover and it hasn't even been a week since the last update... I think... So yeah super soon super short update. enjoy!

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Team Seven once again found themselves in the uncomfortable position of standing at attention before the Hokage. It was truly becoming a pattern that they desperately wanted to break. Nevertheless, this should be the last time… hopefully.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his desk massaging the bridge of his nose, fighting off an encroaching headache. "I received a rather, interesting, missive from the Daimyo."

"Oh hell, please tell me he wasn't as attached to the little furry menace as his wife?" Naruto begged.

Hiruzen merely sighed tiredly. "No. Mercifully nothing like that. Quite the opposite in fact. The Daimyo hates his wife's cats." Team seven treated their commander to a set of looks that aptly conveyed the concept; 'No. Really? Can't imagine why.'

"He is apparently more of a dog person, and the untimely death of Tora is something he has been hoping would happen for years now. Because it has finally happened he has decided it is time to capitalize on what he seems to consider an opportunity."

Sasuke was the first to put the pieces together and make sense of where the conversation was going. "No way." He exclaimed in disbelief.

"Indeed." Hiruzen took a long drag from his pipe before slowly exhaling. "The Daimyo requested whichever team was responsible for Tora's death for this mission, and he is paying for a B-rank assassination… On his wife's three remaining cats…" The Hokage began to massage his temples. "I need a drink. Just, just go. Deal with the cats. I need a break from this shit."

Wordlessly team seven nodded agreement before exiting the Hokage's office.

On exiting the building Naruto stopped and turned to face Hinata with an evil grin on his face.

Sasuke and Kakashi watched the scene with raised eyebrows, Hinata still seemed to be in shock and had yet to notice her boyfriend's expression.

"Hmmm quite the turn of events wouldn't you say, Hime?" Naruto asked sweetly.

"I can't believe the most powerful man in the country is paying us to assassinate cats." She mumbled.

"Oh not that, Hime. I meant the fact that you have been holding something over my head for almost three weeks now… and it turns out the thing you've been holding against me ended up being a good thing." The blonde's grin reached face splitting levels.

Hinata froze ramrod straight as she realized she had been rather, well harsh, on her boyfriend. And now he could lord it over her in turn. While Hinata felt bad about it now that things had turned out for the best she really was not about to let Naruto turn the tables on her… She was a ninja after all and while turnabout might be fair play, ninja don't play fair.

"You're right, Naruto. I'm sorry I've been so hard on you." She said preventing Naruto from gaining any kind of moral high ground he would have obtained had she tried to deny or ignore the issue. "How about I make you some ramen from scratch as an apology." She offered leading with a bribe the would always grab the blonde's attention.

Naruto had not expected Hinata to instantly apologize and was already off balance when the offer of Hinata's homemade ramen set his mouth to watering. But that alone would not be enough to erase several weeks of being Hinata's verbal chew toy, among other things.

Hinata could see that Naruto was wavering but not quite ready to give in. This was bad. She had never managed to upset him to the point where homemade ramen wouldn't fix things between them. Mind racing, she finally hit upon an idea. It would probably work… It wasn't what anyone would call romantic though, and she hated to make something in their relationship an apology rather than something romantic and spontaneous between them. Still it wouldn't take a _large_ concession to get his attention, he was a boy. A vague promise would have his imagination reeling and make him puddy in her hands.

Hinata chewed at her lip nervously, before resolving that it had only been a matter of time anyway and mending Naruto's hurt feelings was as good a reason as any to take a small step forward.

Stepping up to her boyfriend she gave Naruto a hug before leaning up to whisper in his ear. "Then after dinner we can go for another _jog_. In fact, I think we could even go a _little_ farther than the last time we went for a _jog_. What do you think Naruto-kun?"

Naruto went rigid before nodding dumbly.

Hinata beamed at him and gave her boyfriend a peck on the cheek before stepping away. "I'm going to go get some gear I didn't expect to need. I'll meet you all back here in half an hour." With that Hinata took to the roofs heading for the Hyuga compound.

"The fuck just happened?" Sasuke asked looking to his sensei for an explanation as his blond teammate stumbled away with a stupid grin on his face.

Kakashi merely shook his head and chuckled.

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"Kami damned furball! Get back here and die!" Naruto shouted as he chased after one of team seven's three targets.

Initially he had planned to shoot the little monster. Unfortunately, that plan had gone out the window when he tracked it to a dense bit of forest and decided not to risk losing it.

So now it was a running knife fight through the woods with a chakra wielding cat that stood two feet high at the shoulder.

Fucking experimental breeding programs.

Breaking out of the undergrowth the two combatants found themselves at the edge of small pond. The shallows are covered in lily pads and reeds.

"Got you now fleabag." Naruto made the seal for the shadow clone and formed a two thick perimeter around the edge of the clearing. Two clones flanked the blonde, one on either side.

The cat arched its back and hissed.

"Yeah yeah, who's afraid of the big bad putty tat? Well it's not me bitch so bring it." Naruto said widening his stance and bringing his knife up and to the ready.

With a yawl the cat launched itself at Naruto coming in at waist height. Naruto already feeling assured of his victory slashed at the cat's neck.

In the moment right before the blade would have connected the cat's teeth took on the blue glow of chakra and it bit down on the knife. Capitalizing on Naruto's shock the cat then clawed his hand forcing him to drop the knife. With a twist of its body the cat whipped its head towards the pond and let go of the knife sending it flying into the drink.

Naruto stared despondently at the ripples his knife made in the previously calm water. "Fucking really?! I liked that knife you stupid cat! Fuck this. Minions, attack!"

A trio of clones rushed forward to engage the fury foe. It did not end well for the clones… The cat was too low to the ground for standard moves to work on it and it showed in the way the clones faltered before each attack. By comparison the cat clawed at the clones unprotected legs and despite how shallow the wounds were the fragile shadow clones went up in plumes of smoke.

Naruto palmed his face. "Kami give me strength to deal with stupid shit like this." The blond grumbled. "OK new plan, all clones, air bullets, now!"

The clones flashed through handsigns and took a deep breath before launching spinning bullets of air the size of watermelons from their mouths.

The cat danced around the first few shots which kicked up clouds of dirt but the sheer volume of attacks quickly overcame the cat's agility. When the dust finally settled the cat's body was nothing but a twisted mess.

With a sigh Naruto set his clones to burying the cat and searching the pond for his knife.

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Sasuke stared down his cat two tomoe sharingan eyes spinning slowly.

"You've certainly made this more difficult than it needed to be." The raven haired teen stated as he observed the cat he had chased into a small cave. "I should feel bad about this but honestly after watching you take chunks out of a few of the people I graduated with… Well they do say there's no kill like overkill."

With that he threw a kunai loaded down with a trio of explosive tags about a foot in front of the cat before leaping back and out of the cave.

The explosion not only killed the cat, it also collapsed the cave.

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Hinata idly rubbed at the head of the purring cat nestled in her lap and offered it another bite of tuna which it happily accepted.

"I wish I could stay longer but I really need to get back to my team. Still I'm glad you had a good day." The cat only purred happily.

Hinata smiled sadly before jabbing the cat in the base of the neck with two fingers glowing blue with chakra.

Hinata placed a light kiss on the now deceased felines forehead before laying that cat out gently beneath a nearby tree.

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For the next week the intermittent wailing of the distraught madam Shijimi could be heard from various parts of the village.

The crying stopped not ten minutes after the Damio arrived with a litter of Great Dane puppies.

Though he made sure to stress to his wife that she _not_ cuddle them until they finished growing.

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leave me a review... or I'll sick a woodpecker on you... yeah I'm not going to set a woodpecker on you.


	17. Chapter 17

AN: Do not own Naruto… Sorry, sorry! I know it has been a while. I've been busy with work, then with losing my job, I've had plot bunnies attacking my muse left and right… seriously six plot bunnies for Worm and now two more for Naruto. I originally didn't think I'd have another one in me after this one but now? Yeah, probably one or two more Naruto fics in my future. Anyway, enough of my excuses.

Reader response: just a few this time since I can blanket state "I'm glad you all enjoyed the cats"

 **aguillar1180:** I had a bit of trouble figuring out what you were saying but google is truly an awesome thing and it helped me work it out. So, thank you, I'm glad you found it amusing.

 **lordamnesia:** lol noooo! Not the badgers!

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Team Seven stood in one of Konoha's most infamous training grounds. Training ground 63; the haunted castle. The entire training ground in taken up by a scaled down version of a noble's castle. A masterwork of seals and genjutsu embedded into the castle walls to create semitransparent projections of guards, farmers, maids, advisors and noble's. An entire ghostly staff, that would respond to attacks like real people.

Not only that but it was filled to the brim with non-lethal traps. It was the ultimate infiltration training tool, and Kakashi was determined to run his team through it until they could take out any target he might designate, without being discovered. Oh, and he was making them do it without guns.

"The weapons you've made Naruto are, well, they're terrifying." The Jounin admitted amicably. "That said as we saw with the last mission they are not always the best option, or even a good option. So that means you are all going to learn to do this the old fashioned way. Slipping in between patrols and invading through castle walls if necessary, after all Kunai were originally meant for breaking mortar, (AN: This is actually true to the best of my knowledge) it's about time you learned to use them for their original purpose."

"I know, I know. I made stealth and infiltration some of my primary focuses after all. It's just, frustrating. I made the guns to make this kind of risky maneuver unnecessary." The blond groused with a slight frown.

Hinata lay a comforting hand on the blond's shoulder and favored him with a warm smile.

"And they are an excellent tool for doing precisely that. However, they are useless for say, extracting a hostage, or going after someone who is to terrified to venture outside their inner walls." The three students gave their sensei skeptical looks at that last one and he shrugged in response. "I once had to kill a man who had not left the walls of his castle in ten years… and the windows were more like arrow slits than anything else. He was extremely pale, even for a noble." Kakashi trailed off lost in the memory.

"Alright, you made your point. How are we doing this?" Sasuke asked.

"For the first run you will be working as a team. The obvious advantage to that is safety in numbers, and you can benefit from each other's skills. The downside is that it's harder for three people to sneak hidden through a compound than just one person."

Nodding the trio moved away into the trees surrounding the castle to begin planning their infiltration. In the feeble light of the half-moon they disappeared from even Kakashi's trained eye quickly.

"It's likely to be nearly completely dark inside. The only light will be from windows and any patrolling guards with flashlights or torches." Naruto mumbled, scanning the fortress with the practised eye of a master prankster. "If there are any inner rooms without an outer wall then it might be pitch black."

"I'll be able to see just fine though." Hinata offered not looking away from the castle as she scanned it with her Byakugan.

"Won't do either of us any good though." Sasuke murmured not all that confident about the Sharingan's ability to guide him through a room devoid of light. Enhanced eyesight and the ability to predict an opponent's next move was great, but only if he could _see._

Hinata grunted in an unhappy acknowledgment.

"Wonder if I could cook up some seals to let us see in the dark." Naruto mused to himself.

"Could you?" Sasuke prompted.

"Maybe? Not sure. Anything is possible with seals but figuring out how to do it is the tricky part. I'll add it to the list of things to work on."

"So in the meantime?"

"Move slowly, and let your eyes adjust as best you can, I mean there should be some light." The blond shrugged. "Normally I'd spend weeks trying to learn and memorize as much of the layout as possible before I even thought about trying this."

Hinata paused in her observations and blinked several times before looking towards her teammates. "Did Kakashi-sensei give us any kind of time limit for this exercise?"

"Ugh, no. No, he didn't." Sasuke answered.

Nodding Hinata pulled out a blank scroll and began to sketch out a rough diagram of the castle. Her teammates shared a confused glance before going back to watching her as she made annotations for things like the height and thickness of the walls, hidden passageways, and guard patrol routes. After an hour and double checking her work she rolled up the scroll.

"Alright, let's get out of here. I know an all-night tea shop not too far from here. We can start planning out our assault and come back in a week for the three quarters moon. The extra light will work in our favor no matter what plan we come up with." She reasoned.

For a moment, her teammates are stunned into inaction. It only lasts a moment though before Naruto starts to fight to keep his laughter down to a snicker. With that the trio set off to plan… leaving their sensei waiting all night for them to fail or report back that they had succeeded.

When later asked what happened, the genin simply responded that they got lost on the road of life.

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Team seven stared down at Naruto's first rapid fire prototype. It was laid out on a small table in the middle of their training ground. It looked a lot like the old model but with a larger magazine that jutted out maybe five inches past the underside of the gun.

"Huh." Sasuke murmured.

"What?" His blond teammate asked.

"Well I guess I expected it to look… Different."

Naruto shrugged in response. "It's the first prototype. I'll worry about aesthetics after I get something that shoots."

"The seals seem a bit, cramped though." Kakashi pointed out, and indeed the seals did seem to be rather tightly packed. Along the stock.

Naruto fidgeted a bit. "Well, I am trying to fit three charging seals meshed into the one explosive seal on there." Naruto scratched at the back of his head looking frustrated. "There isn't any research on this sort of thing, which is stupid because it's giving me all kinds of ideas for redundant triggers on long delay explosive tags… Though that's a bit unnecessary unless there is a sealing expert on hand to try diffusing it."

Naruto trailed off getting lost in theory and possibilities. Sasuke snapped his fingers in the blond's face to draw him back to the task at hand.

"Right, sorry. Anyway, we should get behind some cover and I'll have a clone start test firing." The group moved away and Kakashi summoned an earthen wall which they all ducked behind. Naruto sent out a clone.

Thirty seconds later the clearing shook with the sound of an explosion.

"Damn it." Naruto cursed as he vaulted the wall to get a better look at the damage.

There was a distinct lack of craters though it oddly did nothing to detract from the clear signs of damage. Bits of wood and metal jutted out of the ground and nearby trees.

In that moment, an idea began to tickle at the back of Naruto's mind. Naruto being the impulsive imaginative teen he is chased after it.

"Well, I'm not going to be using that any time soon." Sasuke muttered looking around at the wreckage.

"Don't get too discouraged, Sasuke." Hinata said smiling lightly. "You would be absolutely amazed how many times I've seen this exact thing happen before, and I still trust my life to the weapons Naruto-kun makes." Sasuke grunted something that vaguely resembled an acknowledgment.

Kakashi glanced over at his blonde student who had been staring off into space. "Naruto?" said blond only grunted still focused on the idea building in the back of his head. "Any idea what went wrong?"

"Explosion was louder than previous failures." He mumbled distractedly. "The timing seals must not have functioned properly, possibly because everything was cramped together, made mistakes easier. They all charged the explosive seal at once, must have overloaded it."

Hinata tilted her head slightly and observed her boyfriend for a moment before recognizing the signs of an idea blossoming. "Naruto, what are you thinking?"

Kakashi and Sasuke looked back and forth between the couple, not quite understanding the rapport the two had built up over years of knowing one another, and missing the significance of the question, but knowing it means something from Hinata's tone of voice.

Naruto took another few moments to think before speaking. "The explosion wasn't all that big… smaller than one explosive tag… but it was more dangerous."

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked.

"The, shrapnel." He said pointing at the gun barrel embedded two inches into a nearby tree. "One big chunk of metal ended up like that… Imagine how much damage a bunch of pieces the size of a bullet could do, or more even smaller pieces."

"That's… Honestly a bit scary." Kakashi conceded.

Naruto just nodded. "I've got to go talk with Higurashi-ojisan. I'll catch up with you all later." With that he made a clone to clear up the wreckage before launching into the trees heading towards the forge.

"Umm, he does know we were supposed to do more training after the test, doesn't he?" Kakashi asked directing the question at Hinata who sighed a bit tiredly.

"He gets like this sometimes when he has a new idea."

"Right." Kakashi sweat dropped remembering a few similar instances where his sensei would wander off mumbling while scribbling away at a note pad. "Guess we'll call it an early day today then. Just make sure he shows up tomorrow."

{}{}{}{}

Under the light of the three-quarter moon team seven stared despondently at training ground 63.

With silent nods, they start their approach flitting from shadow to shadow Hinata leads the group forward. Naruto had wanted to take the lead, this being his specialty, but Hinata argued that her byakugan made her the better choice. She had flashed puppy dog eyes at him and that had been the end of the discussion.

Privately Naruto believed that she would fail, then be more receptive to his advice… so long as he did not try to tell her 'I told you so'. That would just lead to her being pissed at him.

Hinata gently scaled the outer wall by clinging to it with her Chakra, slipping between patrols she dropped into the garden hiding in the shadow of a large rose bush. She moved from shadow to shadow until she reached the castle's wall. The castle was truly built like a fortress, two entrances, both guarded. The windows barely rated the term each being a mere six in six inches wide and only two or three feet high.

Careful to stay in the deepest shadows of the building Hinata pulled out a kunai, longer and thinner than the norm with a serrated edge with careful checks of the patrols using her byakugan, Hinata began to saw at the bamboo wall using the edge of a window as her starting point. Each motion slow and deliberate but with force behind it. Slowly she made an opening in the wall large enough to slip through. Her team followed right behind her.

Placing the chunk of wall carefully back and with a quick application of Chakra to make it stick in place the genin moved on, stalking through the halls dodging the illusionary patrols and making their way towards the inner rooms.

Hinata's confidence in her abilities soared with every step and she couldn't fight off the satisfied smirk on her face at the idea of getting one over on her boyfriend. She wanted to prove to him that she could handle this just as well as he could. Naruto on the other hand was slightly impressed with Hinata's performance so far, but knew just from looking at the map she had drawn up that she had missed one minor but important detail and the simple fact that she had overlooked it meant she had not recognized the threat. Sighing internally the blond schooled his features to neutrality and waited for the inevitable mistake that would end the exercise.

Hinata gave a quick hand sign that was only just visible in the faint light alerting them to an approaching patrol. She darted forward silently until she took her first step into the room she had chosen to duck into. Instantly the crinkling noise of feet going against the grain of a tatami mat sounded out clear and crisp. Normally such a noise would be minor and overlooked, but in the silence of the night the sound carried.

For a moment, everyone froze in place, then the sounds of guards shouting mixed with the noise of running feet rang out. With that the lights came on throughout the mansion signalling that the simulation had been a failure.

Naruto was careful to keep his mouth shut and his face blank all throughout Kakashi's debrief and analysis. Hinata had the good grace to take it as the olive branch it was and not assume that it was a different method of saying; 'I told you so'.

{}{}{}{}

Naruto carefully drilled into the handle of a kunai with its ring cut off. Nodding in satisfaction the blond blew out the bits of metal still filling the thin chamber he had created. Next the blonde carefully rolled an explosive tag up before slipping it into the chamber he had just drilled out. A bit of wax sealed it up. Finally, he welded the ring back onto the end of the kunai.

Twenty minutes later found a batch of Naruto clones standing at various distances from the single clone holding the kunai bomb. All of the clones looked nervous.

"I hate you, boss!" The clone holding the kunai called out.

"Yeah yeah, like I frickin care. Now be a good little test dummy and blow yourself up already!" The original called back from his impromptu bunker of a hole in the ground.

"All of my hate." The clone grumbled before channeling chakra into the knife. The silence in the clearing made the clone think, for a moment, that the theory would not pan out and the metal was preventing the chakra from reaching the tag. Then the kunai exploded dispelled that notion, and the clone. When the dust settled, the original popped his head over the edge of his whole to see just how much damage had been done only to tilt his head in confusion.

"The hell? It only got three of you?" Several of the surviving clones shrugged looking equally confused. The original just sighed. "Right. Not enough shrapnel maybe." He scratched at the back of his head. "Now how do I make it break up into more pieces?"

{}{}{}{}

Hinata and Hanabi had set up a small firing range near the back of the clan compound. Honestly Hinata was unhappy about the location but it was off limits to all but the clan elders. Her father's idea was to give the girls a place to practice close to home hopefully showing the elders just how devastating the new weapons could be and breaking them from their disdainful mindset. Hinata had expressed her reservations but in the end caved to her father's wishes.

Hinata had already drilled her sister on safety and given her some basic instruction. Now would be her younger sister's first time using her new weapon. Hanabi approached the lesson with an almost concealed air of excitement. Only her slight fidgeting and faster than normal pace giving away how eager she was to begin.

Hinata noticed that only one of the main branch elders had come to watch them a particularly vocal traditionalist named Shitsukoi, though as they unsealed their weapons several other elders arrived as well.

Hinata carefully couched Hanabi as she took her first shots. Even being only a hundred meters from the target the new shooter was having some minor difficulties. Her shots all landed within eight or nine inches of the bullseye, but her grouping was terrible. Hanabi pouted cutely when her sister pointed this out.

So focused on the task at hand were the sisters that they never noticed Shitsukoi's aproach.

"Feh," the wrinkled old man scoffed. "Our ancestors must be weeping in their graves. Both heirs of the Hyuga clan abandoning their honor to fight like cowards with the demon's weapons." the man said fixing the two girls with a glare.

Hinata bristled, her boyfriend was _not_ a demon. It had taken her months to convince the blonde to explain his seal to her, and a great deal of reassurance afterwards to convince him that she would not abandon him for it. To hear one of her own clan call him a demon made her blood boil. Hanabi did not know what Shitsukoi meant by his insult, but she easily picked up on her sister's anger and took that as her lead to glare right back at the elder.

"Were I you," Hinata said, her voice icy with anger. "I would use a great deal more care in how I spoke about Naruto. That is, if I was fond of keeping my head."

Shitsukoi reeled back slightly before his eyes narrowed and his glare resumed. "You know of the thirds law? You know what he is, and yet you would refer to him by name?! As if he is not-" he bit back the rest of his sentence with a glance at Hinabi who now looked confused.

"You both dishonor your clan by using those _, things._ " He spat. "The Hyuga clan are proud warriors, not gutless assassins."

"We are ninja, uncle." Hinata spat back with equal fire. "Honor is for samurai; a ninja needs only to survive, and to kill their enemy."

Fire danced in the elder's eye's. "You would spurn our clan's traditions so easily! You are not fit to be the clan heir, and now you have corrupted your sister with your weakness!"

Both sisters bristled at the blatant disrespect.

"Tradition is neither good nor bad, it simply is." Hinata growled. "A good leader looks to the future; I see a future where _some_ of our traditions will hinder our great clan."

"You dare?!"

"I dare to open my mind to the possibilities!" Hinata spat getting tight into the man's face. "To do otherwise would be to blind myself, like you."

It bears noting that among the Hyuga to be called blind is the ultimate slight. A blind Hyuga has no value to the clan, death would be considered preferable. This final insult was too much for Shitsukoi.

Lashing out with an open palm strike he knocks Hinata back a few feet, before grabbing Hanabi's rifle in one hand and backhanding the younger girl with the other. Sneering the man holds up the rifle with one hand and points it at the now wide eyed Hinata. "It's only fitting that you die by the thing you would betray the clan over." With that said Shitsukoi pumps a bit of chakra into the seals, and pulls the trigger.

It's as good as over in an instant. Seals flow up his arm spreading all the way across his body in only a second. For a moment Shitsukoi is frozen and silent. Then he begins to scream.

Naruto's security seals are a particularly vicious and creative bit of work. The first stage pulls all of the victim's stomach acid out through their body and to the gun where it corrodes all the seals related to firing. It utterly destroys an enemies chance to recreate the seals used. The second stage draws chakra out, not a great deal, just enough to power the explosive seals which destroy the few internal components. That explosion also happens to be large enough to take out most of Shitsukoi's right hand. The final stage is the truly brilliant bit though. The seals printed across the victim's body begin to absorb all the bodies liquids. Just a minute later Shitaukoi is nothing bit a mummy.

Hinata, Hanabi and the two elders watch the entire process in shock and horror. For a brief moment after the man's final breath there is only silence. Then one of the elders begins to shout of murder.

Wide eyed Hinata grabs Hanabi and with a quick hand sign the two vanish in a swirl of leaves. When they reappear outside the clan compound Hinata drags her shocked and protesting sister to the only place she is sure she'll be safe. Higurashi and Naruto's forge.

* * *

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